Herald & Post may 19th 2005

Bid to Crack Retail Crime......

A RETAIL crime initiative in Kettering is helping to keep offenders out of the town.

Kettering Borough Crime Initiative has grown in strength since it was launched in September 2002 and now has 91 retail stores, both in town and out of town signed up.

Scheme members are provided with a radio and manual containing photos of excluded persons and persistent offenders, which is updated every three months.

This is so when a known offender comes into the area, retailers can alert each other and the town's CCTV control room.

Ten prolific offenders are currently excluded from the 91 member stores.

Kettering town centre community beat officer, PC Tony White, said; "The scheme is working really well. The scheme is making life difficult for offenders and helping to reduce incidents of shoplifting and cheque and credit card fraud. We are encouraging any retailers across the borough who are not signed up to the scheme join."

Shops joined up to the scheme are reporting reductions in stock losses as a result of the initiative.

Chairman of Kettering Borough Crime Initiative, Neil Griffin, who is also the manager of the town's Newlands Shopping Centre, said; "The scheme is a big success and the more stores that come on board, the more places there are for the offenders to be banned from. We are never going to totally stop offenders from occurring, but by keeping the persistent offenders out of the borough, the problem is being significantly reduced."

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