Police bosses and businesses discuss crackdown on crime in Eastbourne

The meeting saw police and crime commissioner Katy Bourne, W Bruford owner Ashley Pugh and Edinburgh Woollen Mill store manager Sylvia Rimmer discuss the challenges they face, solutions they hope to see and the work being done by Sussex Police.

Mr Pugh’s flagship store in The Beacon was recently targeted by robbers who stole Rolex watches worth an estimated £100,000.

He said, “Eastbourne is positive and pro-active as far as crime is concerned. We have crime in the town centre, the same as any city or town centre has, but ultimately it’s what we are doing about it that matters.

“We are working with partners to improve the feel of the town centre and keep it a safe place for people to shop, eat and socialise in.

“Through the partnerships we will be looking to work to put more business wardens in the town centre to help people, to make them feel safe and generally just to give a nicer feel.”

At the Edinburgh Woollen Mill, manager Sylvia said she had been forced to put shutters up on the shop windows due to ongoing criminal damage in the area.

Sylvia, 59, also said shops going out of business in that particular stretch of Terminus Road is possibly leading to an increase in crime.

She said, “It’s quite a good area to be invisible. It would be nice to see more of a police presence. We are seeing a different sort of thief now where they were once sort of a little bit under-handed and trying to hide their thieving, they’re now quite bold.”

Sylvia spoke about potential punishments for perpetrators and said the main offenders were from the community of rough sleepers or drinkers from the night time economy.

She said, “If they’ve been prosecuted for shoplifting say three times, surely it’s three strikes and you’re out?

“You shouldn’t even be allowed in the town centre, there should be an exclusion zone. It might encourage better behaviour. The night time economy has a lot to answer for. There is a lot in this town that goes on after hours, it never seems to be addressed. It’s always the retailer that bears the brunt and the cost.”

Sylvia said she had little confidence in the police.

She said, “I don’t really to be honest. When they come, they are brilliant, you couldn’t ask for a better police force, but it’s if you’re lucky enough to get one. If you have an issue you want an officer there and then, you don’t want them phoning you three days later. A crime number is no good to us, we want to see a human being.”

The manager at M&S in Eastbourne Andre Brincat also said his store regularly fell victim to shoplifters.

Ahead of the police and crime commissioner elections in May, Mrs Bourne has invited businesses from major retailers to a meeting to discuss causes of business crimes and solutions.

Mrs Bourne said, “I’m really behind businesses because they are the backbone of our economies. If we want people to have a safe experience when they come to our high streets and out-of-town shops, we need to make sure they are safe.”

The commissioner also highlighted drug habits as the potential cause of shoplifting.

She said, “Very often these thefts are fuelled by drugs. Any of the seaside towns will say they know when the drugs are coming in, because they see a spate of thefts from local stores to pay for their drug habit.”

Adam Godden, a specialist business crime advisor with the Eastbourne Crime Group which works in partnership with Sussex Police, said his group uses online apps to report intelligence.

He said, “We can use the intelligence we receive to target offenders and get criminal behaviour orders, civil injunctions, and start to take a tougher stance. Hopefully helping to make it a better shopping experience for people in the town.”

Chris Neilson, business crime lead for Sussex Police, said, “An uplift in money, which the government has assigned to us, means we’ve already started to employ more PCSOs with more policing. This enables us to put those resources into town centres and have a more consistent presence. It’s not a cheap option for policing because it’s something over and above policing. Policing is going to be there whatever. This is an additional response to help businesses.”

After visiting Eastbourne’s Beacon, Katy Bourne convened a meeting to address crime concerns of local businesses. She brought together senior members of Sussex Police, business crime experts, representatives from Tesco, Mark’s and Spencer’s, Sainsbury’s and the Co-op with representatives of smaller local stores.

They now form the new ‘Safer Sussex Business Partnership’ and signed a pledge on Friday (February 7) to work together to find more sustainable ways to tackle business crime and make retail workers feel safe and supported.

Danny Malloy, representing Tesco in the south east, said, “We know that only a small proportion of crimes in our stores are reported to the police. We must work with our colleagues to make it easier for them to report. At the moment people are shoplifting with no fear of reprimand; we can now work in collaboration to change this attitude.”

Mrs Bourne said, “Businesses and the economic wellbeing of an area are an integral part of community cohesion so, it is only right that we work together to make Sussex a place where people want to trade.

“Today we have developed even stronger links between Sussex Police and businesses within our communities as we strive to cut crime and recognise the impact on them and the wider community.

“We have discussed better ways of sharing vital community intelligence about this crime type which can then be shared with others to stop repeat offences but also help us to catch those responsible.

“The partnership also means we can make best use of each other’s expertise and give advice on measures to prevent people from becoming a victim of business crime.”

Chris Neilson said, “There is a lot more that businesses can and want to do to contribute to the safety of Sussex and this group provides an excellent opportunity to achieve this.

“I want to encourage our local businesses to report all crimes against them so we can build an accurate picture for Sussex. I will be working to develop a clear understanding within the force of different types of business crime and ensuring they are accurately recorded and flagged in our systems.”