St Albans BID, St Albans City & District Council and Hertfordshire Constabulary have joined forces in a new partnership aimed at cutting crime and boosting the local economy.

The newly launched St Albans Business Crime Partnership (SABCP) will create a united approach where the business community and police can share information and advice to prevent crime and catch offenders.

SABCP aims to help prevent crimes by sharing best practice while working with businesses to help them with sensible steps to protect themselves. SABCP will cover the whole of the District of St Albans including retail spaces at Harpenden and London Colney. The membership fee to join the SABCP will be waived for BID levy payers.

New membership forms have already been sent out to existing security radio users and other businesses who have shown an interest in joining the scheme.  Our Crime Roadshow will take place in St Albans City Centre on Monday 14 May when participating businesses will be invited to upgrade their existing in-store radios. The BCP is also funding upgrades in the CCTV room to facilitate communication between businesses and police.

Finally, a new secure app will allow users to share information about business crimes to stop repeat offences; and also assist catching those responsible.

The scheme will be governed by a Board made up of St Albans BID staff and business representatives.  If you are interested in becoming a board member, please get in touch with vanessa.sharp@stalbansbid.com

Vanessa Sharp, Business Liaison Manager at St Albans BID says, “This new body will give businesses a voice at the heart of Hertfordshire Police to ensure that issues can be raised and that business crime remains a high priority. We look forward to improving communication between businesses and making sure that would-be criminals know that St Albans is not for them.”