Retail crime and anti-social behaviour are to be targeted in a new initiative for Bury St Edmunds town centre. Our Bury St Edmunds Business Improvement District (BID) is working with ShopSafe which has developed the Alert system to provide a secure and efficient crime-fighting tool.
The initiative was launched this week (Monday 20 October) after a successful trial within the town centre. Supported by Suffolk Police, ShopSafe Alert allows businesses to assist each other with intelligence about offenders together with pictures, while complying with current information sharing legislation.
Mike Kirkham, the BID’s Business Support Manager, said: “We are fortunate to live and work in a lovely town. But in any town or city there is a minority that will take advantage of a thriving town centre.
“When the BID was elected for a fourth term from 2025, we promised we would continue to work with our partners to help reduce retail crime and anti-social behaviour. The ShopSafe Alert system is one way we can do this while striving to ensure that everyone has a safe and enjoyable experience here.”
The launch took place at The Apex, highlighting that 70 businesses have been using the technology since the trial of the system began in February.
Martin Gregg, Head of Customer Success at ShopSafe added: “ShopSafe has worked in Bury St Edmunds for a number of years in a partnership with West Suffolk Council’s CCTV control room from where we have had links with businesses and the town pastors. We are delighted to be working with Our Bury St Edmunds BID to introduce the ShopSafe Alert crime intelligence platform. This collaboration promotes community safety and strengthens the prevention and detection of crime by enabling smarter information-sharing across local businesses and partners.”
Users of the technology have described it as a valuable additional tool to keep businesses safe. Janie Starling from Starlings Toys in arc Shopping Centre said: “We’ve been so impressed with this system. It’s really easy to use so if staff here need to report an incident or suspect, they can do so very quickly. If information has been uploaded by a nearby business, it means we can be swiftly made aware if it’s thought a suspect is targeting a number of shops. By sharing information in real time we can all help to protect our town centre.”
Chief Inspector Pete Partridge, Tactical Lead for Suffolk Police commented: “Suffolk Constabulary is committed to harnessing technology to strengthen our partnership with retailers and enhance community safety. ShopSafe Alert represents a proactive step in bridging the gap between policing and local businesses, aligning with our support for the National Retail Crime Action Plan and our wider commitment to prevention and victim-focused policing.”
The ShopSafe Alert system is available free to all BID member businesses across Bury St Edmunds town centre.