Lancashire’s Police and Crime Commissioner has joined members of Lancaster Business Improvement District to discuss business crime and and anti-social behaviour.
Andrew Snowden joined a panel of experts at the 'Safe and Secure Lancaster' event, hosted by Lancaster Business Improvement District (Lancaster BID) at the Royal Kings Arms Hotel, which brought together business leaders from across the city.
Joining him on the panel was Caroline Jackson, Leader of Lancaster City Council, Tim Tomlinson, Chair of Pubwatch, and Chief Inspector David Hannan from Lancashire Constabulary amongst others.
Around 25 business leaders attended the event and had the opportunity to ask questions and share their own experiences and concerns about business crime in Lancaster.
PCC Andrew Snowden spoke about how he's leading the fight against business crime and the new funding he's provided to help tackle anti-social in Lancaster city centre.
He also shared insights into his Police and Crime Plan, which has a key focus on tackling anti-social behaviour, burglary, and robbery, and talked about how recruitment of new officers, investment into neighbourhood policing and the upcoming launch of a specialist ASB unit focusing on local concerns, are helping tackle key issues.
Following the event, the Commissioner went out on in the city centre with the Lancaster BID Manager Tony Johnson and the BID Warden, Max Dior, to meet with businesses and see how his £10k investment through the Safer Lancashire Neighbourhoods Fund, is addressing ASB concerns raised by local businesses. This includes extending the role of the BID Warden into the evening to increase the reach the role has in tackling ASB and making businesses feel safer for employees and customers alike.
Andrew Snowden, Police and Crime Commissioner for Lancashire said: "I welcomed the opportunity to meet businesses, hear their concerns and also where they think things are going well as we continue to fight crime in Lancaster. I am committed to tackling business crime in all its forms, including online fraud, theft, abuse of workers, and criminal damage.
"I was also pleased to see first-hand how my Safer Lancashire Neighbourhoods Fund investment into Lancaster is addressing some of the concerns raised during the meeting. It is always a poetic irony that we can fund projects tackling the blight of anti-social behaviour and making sure businesses, their staff and the wider public can feel safe, using cash seized from criminals.
"Through collaboration and engagement with key stakeholders, and recognising that many of the issues we've discussed cannot be dealt with just by Lancashire Constabulary alone, we are taking the fight to criminals and making our towns and cities safer for everyone."
Tony Johnson, Lancaster BID Manager said: "All at Lancaster BID were very pleased to welcome Lancashire’s Police and Crime Commissioner to our Safe and Secure BID Breakfast. We are extremely grateful to him for picking our project through the Safer Lancashire Neighbourhoods Fund as it has enabled us to have our BID Warden 52.5 hours a week instead of the 37.5 hours.
"We identified last year that a lot of the ASB going on across the city was happening between 1800-2100, this was usually when our warden had finished for the day.
"The extra hours for our warden not only gives our businesses peace of mind, it also acts as a security blanket for the general public as well."
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