Business Crime
Guidance on Statutory Crime & Disorder Partnerships
Home Office guidance to statutory crime and disorder partnerships includes in Chapter 2: Structures advice on working with the business sector.
The Crime & Disorder Act 1998 places obligations on local authorities, the police, police authorities, health authorities and probation committees (amongst others) to co-operate in the development and implementation of a strategy for tackling crime and disorder in their area. These organisations have to consider changed working practices, internal priorities and their relationships both with other agencies and with the wider community.
Chapter 2 of “Guidance on Statutory Crime and Disorder Partnerships” (Home Office 1998) includes the following advice on working with the business sector:
It will be absolutely essential to ensure that there is proper input into the strategies from the local business sector. Businesses are central to the life of their communities and of course, suffer from the consequences of crime. It will be for the partners locally to decide how best to engage with business in their area – in some parts of the country this might be done through chambers of commerce or town centre managers, where they exist, while in others it may be on a company-by-company basis. However you go about it, avoid the trap of thinking of the business sector as simply – or even primarily – a source of funds.
There is no doubt that many local businesses have made significant financial contributions to crime prevention initiatives in the past and we hope that they will continue to do so, but business can bring other things to the partnership – for example, project management skills or technical know-how; and depending on the findings of the crime and disorder audit, they may also have a legitimate expectation that the strategy will address issues of concern to them, such as retail crime or security in business parks. The relationship with business must be a two-way one. Again, police and local authorities will be expected to listen to the views of the business sector and to encourage their active participation.
Getting the guidance
The full guidance document is available from the Home Office website by clicking here.
Last update: 14 February 2005