Officers mark Safer Business Action Week across East Herts

Officers from Neighbourhood Policing Teams (NPTs) across East Herts engaged with local businesses to mark Safer Business Action Week.

The week of action, which ran last week (Monday 10 November – Friday 14 November), saw officers carrying out additional patrols and engaging with shopworkers and customers on high streets, maintaining a visible presence at key times to help prevent shoplifting and anti-social behaviour.

It was also an opportunity for local officers to engage with shoppers, to ensure that they feel safe when out doing their shopping and talk to them about what they want their local teams to prioritise.

In Bishop’s Stortford, officers held plain-clothed operations to target shoplifting and also conducted visible patrols following recent reports of anti-social behaviour in South Street, where PCSOs engaged with the local businesses to provide reassurance. NPT officers also hosted a Town Link radio meeting for retail and night-time economy businesses in Bishop’s Stortford. The session allowed local businesses to discuss issues such as retail crime, staff safety, and the Shop Kind initiative, a government-led scheme promoting respect for retail workers and providing toolkits for stores.  

The East Herts Rural Team engaged with local businesses, conducting high street patrols in Buntingford at key times to act as a preventative tool to tackle shoplifting. Officers also engaged with businesses in Little Hadham and provided reassurance and crime prevention advice.

In Ware, officers held an operation targeting shoplifting and youth related anti-social behaviour in hotspots areas. Thankfully no offences were reported during the operation.

Neighbourhood Policing Team Inspector Nathan Howson said: “Business crime is not victimless, behind every business-related crime is a large impact on a person or community.

“Safer Business Action Week allowed our officers to prioritise the engagement with local businesses and customers while also conducting operations to ensure that the community of East Hertfordshire can be safe when out shopping. But this work doesn’t just take place as part of the campaign, it’s something we focus on all year round and will continue to do so.

“I want to take this opportunity to talk to business owners about Business Watch. This is a two-way communication tool between businesses and local officers which helps us share information about how we can support you, including crime prevention and safety initiatives. You can sign up to Business Watch for free via Herts Connected at www.hertsconnected.co.uk. If you have any questions, please feel free to chat to one of the team during their regular patrols.”

If you want to report a crime, you can report information online at herts.police.uk/report, speak to an operator in our Force Communications Room via our online web chat at herts.police.uk/contact or call the non-emergency number 101. Always dial 999 in an emergency.

Alternatively, you can stay 100% anonymous by contacting the independent charity Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111 or via their untraceable online form at crimestoppers-uk.org.