NE1 launches new business crime reduction partnership in Newcastle

NE1 is launching a new Business Crime Reduction Partnership in Newcastle, collaborating with the business community, Northumbria Police, and Newcastle City Council.

The partnership comes after a survey of NE1 business members revealed that anti-social behaviour and retail crime in the city is an issue for businesses, who rarely report it to the police.

Businesses across the city are being invited to join the partnership which will be free for all NE1 levy-paying businesses, and available for companies outside the NE1 postcode area to join for a small annual fee.

Delivered through an online platform, and similar to a neighbourhood watch scheme, the partnership will provide access to a members’ forum to record incidents, share information, and raise alerts to help prevent, and reduce crime in the city centre, as well as improving safety for businesses, staff, and visitors.

Under the new NE1 Business Crime Reduction Partnership, NE1 is encouraging businesses to report incidents of anti-social behaviour or criminal activity via the platform, allowing the partnership to accurately determine the extent of the problem, and work with the police to allocate the resource to tackle the issues.

As well as logging incidents of crime and anti-social behaviour, businesses will be able to review information on offenders operating in the city centre and keep abreast of criminal trends and activity. The platform will alert businesses to the presence of offenders in the city before they go into shops, or leisure venues.

Mark Sumner, operations manager at NE1 Ltd said: “It’s important to remember that Newcastle is a safe city, however, we do not have facts and figures on the scale of anti-social behaviour and associated issues that are occurring in the city because businesses aren’t reporting incidents to the Police.

“NE1’s Street Rangers are doing a stellar job helping to keep the streets of Newcastle safe and working with the police to be their eyes and ears on the ground, but they are doing this without concrete data on where the major problems lie, how extensive they are, and what resources are needed to tackle the issues.”

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