Harrogate BID hosts Free National Retail Crime Event with Positive Steps Forward
Harrogate BID has taken another positive step towards a safer, more connected town centre by bringing businesses and leading industry experts together for the Fight Back Against Retail Crime event, delivered with Smoke Screen. The event builds on the growing success of the ShopSafe app across the daytime economy.
Speakers from the Fight Back Against Retail Crime Event
Since 29 June, 65 active users across Harrogate town centre have joined the ShopSafe app, creating a stronger network for sharing information with the North Yorkshire Police neighbourhood policing team. Building on this encouraging progress, Harrogate BID will launch a new Business Crime Reduction Partnership (BCRP) for the town centre in April 2027 and work towards official NABCP accreditation.
Jason Maxwell, CEO of Harrogate BID, and Paul Evans, Business Crime Officer at Harrogate BID, welcomed guests and opened the event.
The programme featured a strong line-up of speakers from policing, national crime-reduction organisations and industry: Paul Crabtree, Chief Inspector with North Yorkshire Police, Jess Hall-Christie, North Yorkshire Police Retail Crime Sergeant, Titus Halliwell from the National Business Crime Centre (NBCC), Sophie Jordan from the National Association of Business Crime Partnerships (NABCP), Martin Gregg from ShopSafe, Stevie Nickson from Eboracum, Gemma Ivison from Apex, and Scott Ballard and Jack Cunnington from Smoke Screen.
Paul Evans, Business Crime Officer at Harrogate BID said: ““It was encouraging to see Harrogate businesses come together with police and industry experts to share ideas and practical ways to tackle retail crime. Strong relationships and timely information sharing are vital to helping businesses protect their staff, customers and premises.
“With the success of the ShopSafe app so far, we are building a stronger network. The new reporting pilot and our plans for a Business Crime Reduction Partnership will build on that progress, making it easier for businesses to report crime and work together towards a safer Harrogate.”
Representatives from Harrogate town centre businesses and from Newcastle and Leeds BIDs also joined the event, creating valuable networking opportunities. The North East NABCP meeting took place following the conference to share best practice.
The event also marks an exciting step towards the innovative pilot with ShopSafe and North Yorkshire Police, due to launch on 1 October. Harrogate BID already uses ShopSafe to manage Pubwatch and Shopwatch, and the pilot will give businesses a simpler, more direct route to report crime through the app to the police. As the first police force to introduce this reporting route with ShopSafe, North Yorkshire Police will place Harrogate at the forefront of a pioneering new approach to supporting businesses and strengthening town-centre safety.
Harrogate BID is a not-for-profit organisation, funded by businesses in a dedicated area, with an aim to improve the area in which those businesses trade.
The BID was launched in 2019 and received a successful ballot, which saw its second term begin in January 2024 for a further five years.
Visit the website at: www.harrogatebid.co.uk for more information.
