Businesses unite to clamp down on shoplifting
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00:00 Rescue 2-0 are you receiving?
00:02 Yes, sorry, bear that one in mind.
00:05 Over the last three and a half years, we started off with safety CCTV
00:11 and started seeing the crime in Portsmouth go up, so that's why the CCTV department was introduced.
00:18 I then got a dog and we went out on the roads of the night time with the dog.
00:24 We started seeing antisocial behaviour and crime.
00:27 When we had 14 volunteers, we called it the Portsmouth Eye, so eyes on the city, keeping everyone safe.
00:34 That started to be very successful in the north of the city.
00:40 We had an opportunity given to us in December of this year where we could do a radio scheme for Portsmouth.
00:50 We started off in Portsmouth, in Cascades, and we grew it throughout Portsmouth.
00:55 We've now got most of the high street off Commercial Road, Palmerston Road, Caution, North End,
01:01 and we're working together as a team.
01:03 What I like about it is the shops are constantly on the radios talking about what's going on in the high street.
01:09 If there's crime happening, they're passing the information on to the other shops,
01:13 which is stopping the crime actually physically happening.
01:16 They're deterring it by standing on the front doors.
01:20 Knowing what these people are addressed in, how they're acting, and so on and so forth, has been a huge benefit.
01:26 Since Christmas, we had three or four radios out.
01:31 Then we had five, seven, ten, twenty, twenty-five, thirty, and so on.
01:38 We built it up across the whole city.
01:41 I've got to say a big thanks has got to go to all the shop users,
01:46 because without them, the scheme wouldn't work.
01:50 We had the opportunity to have the database disk, which is linked into all the other shops.
01:57 Basically, they can put offenders onto the system, and that can be shared across the city to other users of disk.
02:05 The police have been absolutely fantastic in Portsmouth.
02:10 They've actually got a radio theirself.
02:13 They've got a call sign. Everyone's got a call sign, so you never say the name of the shop, so you don't put anyone in danger.
02:19 The police have got a radio.
02:21 Portsmouth City Council control room, absolutely amazing.
02:26 I cannot thank them enough, because they're working with the shops, with ourselves, and across the whole community.
02:36 We are catching these people.
02:38 We're using the cameras, we're using the radios, and we're using the database linked all together with all of these users on it.
02:48 Basically, it's coming across, and we're actually bringing the crime rate in Commercial Road down.
02:57 It's been brilliant, actually.
02:59 The Portsmouth Eye, the radio system, we're all interlinked with each other throughout the high street.
03:06 Since we've had the actual Portsmouth Eye with the radios, we've actually been able to catch quite a few prolific offenders.
03:15 They're getting them off the high street.
03:17 We're all noticing them a lot more.
03:20 The rates have gone down a lot more, I would say, with them.
03:23 Andy, who runs it, is absolutely fantastic.
03:27 Just the amount of people that we're stopping at the moment.
03:29 Just the other day, we had a recognized prolific shoplifter on the high street.
03:34 Myself, the Portsmouth Eye, Portsmouth City Council, and the police all worked together into tracking those people.
03:42 They were found with nearly six grand's worth of stolen goods on them, which we actually managed to retrieve.
03:48 That's a massive, massive bonus and amazing job from all of us to get that much stock back.
03:54 It wasn't just clothes. It was food. It was everything.
03:57 You name it, they had it in their car. It was crazy.
04:00 It's been fantastic.
04:01 Before that, crime rates were horrendous.
04:04 We were getting chased around the shop.
04:06 You'd get people just coming in.
04:08 They just take what they want.
04:09 I mean, they still do it now, don't get me wrong.
04:10 There's still people that will walk in the shop and walk out with it in their arms.
04:13 They just don't care.
04:14 However, the people that were prolific, they don't bother coming around so much anymore
04:18 because they know that they can and will be stopped.
04:20 So, yeah, it's been fantastic.
04:22 As a company, we've been here for 34 years.
04:25 But Karen, she retired just after COVID, so I've took over from her.
04:29 Since we've had the eye follow, it's been amazing down here
04:33 because I used to see such a lot of crime, such a lot of shoplifting.
04:36 And, you know, they all seem to be on it now.
04:40 So, in the mornings, especially when I'm setting up,
04:43 we get quite a lot of people that are homeless and drug dependent and stuff like that.
04:47 So, it was quite bad with all that type of stuff.
04:50 And then as soon as the shops was open, they'd be in there thieving and stuff like that.
04:54 I was a little bit, when I first took over, a little bit nervous of taking over.
04:58 But since I've had this and all the guys in the shops,
05:02 we all seem to be in contact and looking out for each other.
05:05 It's so much better.
05:07 Were you worried about it beforehand?
05:09 Yeah, yeah, honestly, it's made such a difference.
05:12 It's only been a few months I've had it, but it's made such a difference.
05:15 Have incidents gone down since?
05:17 Yeah, I think so. Yeah, I mean, you still get the odds, shoplifting, you do.
05:22 But it has made a massive difference to us, all of us.
05:26 I've got a camera, the coffee stand's got a camera.
05:29 And I mean, these guys keep an eye out for us.
05:32 And yeah, it's been so much better.
05:34 It's been really good and it's improved.
05:37 Shoplifting's slowly going down, obviously not going to get it overnight.
05:42 It was a real issue beforehand in around November coming up to December.
05:46 What was that experience like for yourself and the staff members here?
05:51 Obviously, it's not a nice experience for any of the staff to have to basically argue
05:57 and fight with shoplifters on a daily basis.
06:00 And since being a part of Portsmouth Eye, you said that that experience has helped out an awful lot
06:05 and shoplifting rates have gone down.
06:08 Are you positive for the future that that will keep going?
06:11 Oh, hopefully, yes. So hopefully more people get involved in Portsmouth Eye.
06:14 Obviously, more shops work together, more it tackles the crime, basically.
06:20 So business owners and shop workers have had enough with shoplifting and antisocial behaviour on the high street.
06:25 They hope that by joining Portsmouth Eye and coming together to tackle crime in the city
06:30 that it can bring numbers down and increase football up for the high street.
06:33 Many of them said that there's already been a positive impact over the past few months
06:37 and it's just a hope that this continues for the better future of the city.
06:41 Freddie Wood, Portsmouth News, Commercial Road.
06:44 Thanks.
06:45 Thanks.
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