Next presentation 22nd May
Institute of Lighting Engineers,
Regent Place, Rugby

Special Constables in Rugby have produced a presentation which they plan to deliver to over 180 retailers from Rugby town centre as part of an innovative new partnership initiative between the police and the retail industry which tackles crime in stores and on the streets.

The ShopWatch scheme is part of ESP (employer supported policing) and is a retail crime reduction programme that was pioneered by the MET in 2004. The scheme involves the retailer allowing a member of staff to be released but still paid to become a Special Constable. The member of staff is fully trained and, once attested, is released from the store one day every fortnight to carry out police duties in and around the stores general area.

In or out of uniform the member of staff carries the full powers of a warranted police officer and this is where then employer will find the most benefits. The employee has the training and experience to deal with theft from store, unacceptable behaviour, fraud and many other problems often associated with high street stores. But that's not all, the employee will gain so many other skills valuable in their full time employment ;- increased confidence, better communication skills, more motivation and much, much more - all trained, with no cost to the employer by Warwickshire Police.

Special Constable Karla Wentworth says "The new ShopWatch scheme delivers invaluable rewards to both the community and the participating store by not only delivering a highly trained and capable police officer to our streets but also returning that highly trained and capable member of staff back to their store."

The results from the MET's scheme were hugely positive. Some stores such as Woolworths and Dixon's reported theft from store down by 50% and in one store alone one special constable detected and prevented 5 cases of credit card fraud. Stores retained staff as staff were much more motivated and less likely to leave for another company who didn't offer the scheme.

To launch the scheme retailers have been invited to attend one of three evenings to receive this presentation and to sign up to the scheme. The evenings are all to be held from 6.30pm on 1st May, 22nd May and the 5th June at the Institute of Lighting Engineers, Regent Place, Rugby. Refreshments and plenty of advice will be on hand. Chief Officer of the Special Constables, Glyn Gardner, and Assistant Chief Constable, Bill Holland, will be present on the 1st May.

Local Safer Neighbourhoods Team, Councillors and the Mayor have all have given their support for the initiative. Initially, the scheme is being launched in Rugby as it was researched by members of Rugby Special Constables who had heard about the initiative and took a trip to the MET to find out more. If successful the scheme could be rolled out across Warwickshire.

So far the design, advertising and all resources have been supplied free of charge by Rugby Special Constables who are passionate about the success of this program. The Rugby Team and Senior Area Officer Katherine Hancock, Section Officer Sue Fay, Special Constable Denise Robinson and Special Constable Karla Wentworth.

The ESP (employer supported policing) umbrella houses other initiatives such as "Bus Beat" and "Hospital Watch" which all work with the same theory, tailored to the organisations needs.

Special Constable Karla Wentworth says: "We would be more than happy to visit any store, businesses or organisations that feel they may benefit from a scheme like this and to deliver the ShopWatch presentation to them."

For more information go to www.shopwatch.info/index.php