Sustainable Communities

Leicester Small Retail Crime Initiative

"Making shops safer for customers and staff through the reduction of crime"

Covering Leicester's most deprived wards, the project has focused on improving the security of retail premises, to reduce crime and anti-social behaviour around retail premises, as well as tackling harassment of customer and retail staff.

Organisation: Leicestershire Partnership Against Crime & Disorder

Completion Date: 31/03/2004

Location

Various locations across Leicester

Project Description

Quotation (max. 50 words).
Author

Background
The Leicester Partnership Against Crime & Disorder have mapped retail crime throughout Leicester and - except for the city centre and large shopping complexes such as Beaumont Leys - has looked at the high retail crime in the 13 most deprived wards in the city (these are the 10% most deprived wards).

Improving this has involved analysing crime statistics in these 13 wards and spending the Small Retail funding on improving the security of retail premises in order to reduce crime and anti-social behaviour around retail premises, as well as reducing harassment of customer and retail staff.

Aims
Many of the businesses which received this funding are focal points for local youths and incidents of anti-social behaviour are prevalent in these areas.

It is hoped by installing these crime prevention measures that these incidents will decrease and that the cost to businesses to insure premises, repair damage, clean graffiti, etc. will be reduced. This will enable small retailers to remain in local shopping areas, retaining local employment and providing a sustainable local shopping outlet.

Outcomes

Key targets met

• Reduction in retail crime by 8%, i.e. burglary, theft, assaults, etc.
• Reduction in racial incidents by 5%.
• Reduction in anti-social behaviour incidents in shopping areas by 10%.
• Retaining local employment for shop staff and providing residents with a variety of local shops.

Additional evaluation

• In order to determine if the proposed security measure have been successful, comparisons of crime figures for 2002/2003 and 2003/2004 will be made.
• In addition, the panel has requested a detailed evaluation of the project with the potential of rolling it out across the sub-region in future years.

Project Contacts

Project manager:
Kelvin Bates
Tel: 0116 252 6032
E-mail: batek001@leicester.gov.uk
Website: www.leicester.gov.uk

LSEP contact:
Gill Smitherman
Tel: 0116 257 5676
Email: gills@lsep.co.uk
Website: www.lsep.co.uk