£1,000 boost for radio network being used to tackle shoplifting and antisocial behaviour in Rugby town centre

PCC Philip Seccombe (centre left) joins police, a Rugby ranger and workers in the town centre

The scheme brings together police, town rangers, shops, businesses, pubs and clubs together to share information and communicate more effectively.

And the award of £1,000, which came from Police and Crime Commissioner Philip Seccombe, has allowed the purchase of a new network repeater.

This means the network, which covers the Business Improvement District (BID) in the town centre, can now handle 500 radios instead of 250.

Ryan Webster, operations manager for Rugby First, said: "It’s not just about theft and shoplifting – the radios can help tackle problems of anti-social behaviour and also to prevent and deter problems in our pubs and clubs.

“The new repeater we’ve had installed has also allowed us to boost the system’s capacity up to 500 radios, so going forward, if the need is required, we can increase the number of radios by up to double what we have now.

"If the BID area should ever expand or new businesses want to get involved or to do more, it gives us the capacity to be able to do that.”

Rugby First worked with the PCC’s Business Crime Advisor Bogdan Fironda to secure the funding for the scheme.

Warwickshire Police and Crime Commissioner Philip Seccombe said: “I get a lot of correspondence from shop owners and other businesses concerned about shoplifting and other forms of retail crime as I know it can significantly dent their profitability.

"It also takes a huge amount of time and effort to deal with, so if we can try and help prevent and reduce that crime taking place, that’s good news for everybody.

“Equally, when people go out in the pubs and clubs we want them to have a safe and enjoyable time, so giving the network the capacity to expand into more venues will help everyone concerned to communicate more effectively, allowing them to intervene before trouble flares up.

“The radio network is already very successful and much valued by businesses in the town.

"I am pleased that this funding will help to ensure its sustainability into the future and enable more shops, pubs, clubs and other venues the opportunity to be part of this really important crime reduction initiative.”