Worries about security are never far away for small retailers, but much advice and information is at hand, especially for those with internet access. Additionally, useful progress has been made recently in the area of improving the crime reduction advice and information available to small businesses through paper based publications, and two new informative documents have been produced by the Home Office, following input from the RSA and other trade associations. These new publications are available through a number of different sources.

The first is a set of information postcards, "Putting Crime out of Business", which give sound crime reduction advice to small businesses. The postcards may be downloaded by clicking on the image on the right or from www.crimereduction.gov.uk. Additionally a more detailed booklet “Your Business, Keep Crime out of it”, is now available, and is also downloadable from either of the sources mentioned above.

Hard copies of either can be ordered free of charge by emailing homeoffice@prolog.uk.com or telephoning 0870 241 4680, quoting reference 8/04 for the postcards or 3/05 for the booklet.

INFORMATION SOURCES
A number of the information sources from the postcards and other sources have been reproduced below for easy access:

For information about crime in your community, visit:
www.homeoffice.gov.uk/crime

For advice on the fear of crime, visit:
www.crimereduction.gov.uk/toolkits/fc00.htm

To find your local Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnership, visit:
www.crimereduction.gov.uk/partnerships

For advice on crime prevention, and to find your local crime prevention or reduction officer, visit:
www.police.uk

For good-practice examples and advice on e-tailing (making and receiving payments electronically), visit:
www.crimereduction.gov.uk/etailing00.htm

For advice on crime prevention, visit:
www.crimereduction.gov.uk

For information on the regional Business Crime Reduction Advisers, visit:
www.crimereduction.gov.uk/business33.htm

For information on the Action Against Business Crime Group, visit:
www.businesscrime.org.uk

For information on Business Improvement Districts, visit:
www.ukbids.org

For a Cardwatch training pack, visit:
www.cardwatch.org.uk                     Phone: 08705 500005

To contact Crimestoppers with information about a crime, visit:
www.crimestoppers-uk.org
Phone: 0800 555 111
(You do not have to give your name.)

To contact Victim Support, if you need support after a crime, visit:
www.victimsupport.org
Phone: 020 7735 9166

For advice on preventing crime and security standards, visit:
www.securedbydesign.com

For practical advice on business issues, visit:
www.business.gov.uk

For information on protecting staff from violence, visit:
www.hse.gov.uk
www.crimereduction.gov.uk/violence09.htm
www.crimereduction.gov.uk/violence10.htm

If you want a risk-assessment checklist, visit:
www.warwickshire.police.uk/crimeandsafety/businesscrime prevention/generaladvice

ANTI SOCIAL BEHAVIOUR
Anti Social Behaviour is a continuing problem for small shops, especially when the village shop provides the only lit and accessible premises during the evenings. It can be particularly difficult to deal with, but to obtain advice on dealing with this problem, phone the TOGETHER Action Line on 0870 220 2000. The Action Line can also be contacted at: together@homeoffice.gsi.gov.uk.

FIXED PENALTY NOTICES
Fixed Penalty Notices, carrying a fine of £80, were introduced by the Home Office on 1 November 2004 for a number of offences, including incidents of shoplifting up to £100. This measure is not without controversy, but the intention of the Home Office was to introduce an additional measure which would be quick to implement, and which would not place a large administrative burden on either the police or the victim – ie the shopkeeper. Normally these should only be applied to first time offenders, and the shopkeeper should have some input into the decision whether the issue of a Fixed Penalty Notice is the appropriate response to the incident in question. The RSA would very much welcome feedback from rural shops of any cases where they have been used, or where they might have been used but were not.

GOVERNMENT ACTION
As part of the strategy each of the Government Offices now has a Business Crime Reduction Adviser (BCRA) in post. Based locally, the BCRAs are tasked with developing a true understanding of the crime problems and issues affecting businesses within their region, and to ensure that crime reduction initiatives focus on particular local requirements.

Additionally, the Crime and Disorder legislation sets out statutory requirements for responsible authorities to work with other local agencies and organisations to develop and implement strategies to tackle crime and disorder, and misuse of drugs, in their area. These statutory partnerships are known as Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnerships (CDRPs), and details of how to contact the CDRP for your area can be obtained from www.crimereduction.gov.uk/regions_map.htm.

PROOF OF AGE
As independent retailers know only too well, the issue of underage sales of restricted goods has been a consistent problem over a number of years, and all too often can directly lead to abuse, anti social behaviour or even violence. Additionally, it can sometimes seem as though there is considerably more activity aimed at trying to entrap retailers, than there is on supporting them through this particular minefield.

The RSA has been lobbying hard on this matter, although perhaps the problem will never be completely solved unless or until there is a national identity card. We have also argued that a change of culture is essential so that the burden of responsibility, and the possibility of penalty, rests not just on the retailer, but also on the individual customer, who often appears to escape all censure despite a deliberate attempt to purchase goods illegally.

Of course, there is no defence for the retailer who deliberately sets out to sell restricted products to under age customers, but there are means available to help shopkeepers to protect themselves against inadvertent sales. Even without a national identity card, there are a number of proof of age cards available which can safely be accepted, in addition to photo driving licences and passports. Unfortunately however there are also a number of fraudulent cards in circulation, but the major current proof of age cards are accredited by the Proof of Age Standards Scheme, and carry the PASS logo as an embedded hologram.

In order to protect themselves effectively, and to be able to demonstrate compliance with the law, it is vital that retailers have a consistent and sound policy on how to deal with this issue. The consequences of being found to be selling restricted goods illegally could be very serious.

The RSA suggests that retailers adopt the following policy and practices when selling restricted products:

· Display a clearly visible notice to the effect that young customers asking    for restricted goods will be asked for acceptable proof of age;
· Ask for proof of age for all customers who appear to be 21 or under, as it is notoriously difficult to determine the age of a 16 - 18 year old;
· Do this consistently, even if the customer is recognised or has been served before;
· Refuse the sale if acceptable proof is not forthcoming;
· Keep a written record of all refusals, which includes time, date, customer appearance, and the staff member’s name – this demonstrates clearly that the retailer takes the issue seriously;
· Ensure that all staff understand the policy, and their role.

Citizen Card provide free point of sale material for shops if contacted on 0870 240 1221.

CHIP AND PIN
The Banks have launched a major initiative to combat credit and debit card fraud, known popularly as Chip and PIN. Apart from cutting plastic card fraud, the chip and PIN system offers other benefits for those retailers who accept payment cards, including reduced admin costs and quicker queueing times. One of the RSA’s Sponsors is Bank of Scotland Merchant Services, and rural retailers who are considering accepting plastic cards might like to talk to the Bank. Contact details are here. (insert link to BoS page on this website).

REPORTING CRIME
The RSA hears from time to time that some retailers frequently do not bother to report relatively minor crimes to the police, as they do not believe that anyone will attend in response. The other side of this coin is that police forces often say that rural shop crime cannot be a problem, as so little is reported.

The RSA strongly recommends that all retail crimes are reported, as even if no police officers are able to attend, the incident in question will nevertheless still be logged, and will then form part of the regular crime statistics.

Top of page

Top of page

Top of page

Top of page

Top of page