While other towns in the region are reporting increases in the cost of crime to businesses, Bedford can prove that illegal activities damaging this sector has fallen by up to 70% in three years.
Mo Aswat, executive director of Bedford’s business improvement initiative BedfordBID, said: “This success is as a direct result of partnership working between Beds Police and the BedfordBID and its members.
“Our Bluecaps are on the streets every day and are an extra set of eyes and ears for the police. In addition the BedfordBID has financially supported the positioning of four police community support officers in the town centre. Between them, they are stamping crime out.â€
In addition crime is kept down by using technology such as:
Retail Radiolink – an immediate communication system through which members keep in touch with information about sightings of known offenders and criminal activity
CCTV – which monitors movements and captures criminal activity on screen
A key project for BedfordBID is ‘Be Safe, Be Smiling’, which aims to create a comfortable environment to be enjoyed by those who shop, visit or work in Bedford.
Graffiti is another key target of the BedfordBID. As a result of Bluecaps photographing and logging all examples of “taggingâ€, several culprits have been successfully prosecuted for multiple examples of defacing the town centre.
