Why should I join?
In the last year 25 people have been arrested as a direct result of the WGC Watch scheme. Many more have been stopped, preventing the crime occurring. By reducing the opportunity to criminals to offend, the town centre is no longer an easy target for them.
The Cost of Retail Crime
The British Retail Consortium survey in 2004 revealed a worrying picture of retail crime in the UK with the total cost of crime and violence against staff both showing significant increases since 2003. The survey illustrated the impact of crime and crime prevention cost the retail sector £2.13 billion in 2004, a 9% increase from the £1.96 billion cost in 2003.
Looking across a five-year period, this cost is £11.2 billion or on average £2.24 billion per year.
The report showed retailers spent £710 million on crime prevention in their stores throughout 2004, yet despite this investment, theft is a growing problem, with the number of known incidents per 100 outlets increasing in 2004 to 3,385, up 18% from 2003. Since 2000 the incident figure has increased by nearly 50%.
More alarming is the violence against retail staff which is still of grave concern with verbal abuse rising by 35% compared to 2003 and physical violence also up 14% from 2003. This has been a continuing trend since 2000.
Benefits
When you become a member you will receive:
- Regular updates on current criminal ‘targets’ and what they get up to.
- Through the Radio Link, an immediate and local support network when managing a ‘real time’ crime problem.
- Recognisable membership stickers for display in customer areas to deter criminals.
- Invitation to attend regular meetings run by the City Watch’s Board of Management.
- Training sessions covering issues such as procedures on good evidence collection, your legal right and powers of arrest, and identifying suspicious criminal behaviour.