Strength in Numbers: How Norwich’s ALERT Scheme is Helping Tackle Retail Crime
Last week, Norwich Business Improvement District (BID) hosted the second annual Norwich Business Crime Conference, bringing together key stakeholders to discuss how businesses, law enforcement, and local organisations can continue collaborating to help reduce crime in the city.
A key focus of the morning’s discussions was the valuable role that ALERT, Norwich’s Business Crime Reduction Partnership (BCRP), plays in providing a structured approach to intelligence-sharing and crime prevention.
The Rising Threat of Retail Crime
Supt. Patrick Holdaway from the National Business Crime Centre began the conference by sharing some worrying trends that were identified in the British Retail Consortium’s most recent annual crime survey:
- Retail violence and abuse have surged by over 50%, now exceeding 2,000 incidents daily.
- Losses from customer theft hit a record £2.2 billion.
- Shoplifting offences reported to police in England and Wales increased by 23% to over 492,000 cases last year.
Norfolk Constabulary’s Stefano Cabrini and Sgt Chris Clay spoke next, revealing that the county faces similar challenges to those nationally. While overall crime in Norfolk decreased by 10.2% between December 2022 and December 2023, shoplifting incidents rose by 30.3%. Over the last 12 months, Norfolk recorded 8,605 retail crimes, with shop thefts making up 74% of those incidents.
Of course, it’s not just in physical stores where retail crime is an issue today. Jim Stevenson, Head of Cyber and Innovation at the Eastern Cyber Resilience Centre went on to explain that 58% of small business in the UK fell victim to a cybercrime in the past year, with the average cost of a breach or cyberattack being £1.2k.
ALERT: A Key Tool for Norwich Businesses
Norwich’s Business Crime Reduction Partnership (BCRP), ALERT, provides businesses with a collaborative platform to share real-time data on crime, identify offenders, and work in unison with the police. By improving both the quality and quantity of crime reports, ALERT strengthens law enforcement efforts and enhances crime prevention across the city.
Michael Yates from Norwich BID outlined some of ALERT’s key successes over the past year, which include:
- More than 110,000 logins to the DISC crime reporting platform.
- 184 businesses participating in the scheme.
- 94 ALERT exclusion stickers provided to local businesses to help deter offenders.
ALERT ensures businesses have a stronger collective voice, and the importance of reporting incidents—especially violent offences—cannot be overstated. It has already proved to be a valuable tool for the Police in their efforts to identify and stop shoplifters. By working together and sharing intelligence, businesses can help disrupt criminal behaviour and make Norwich a safer place for all.
The Importance of Local and National Collaboration
One of the messages reinforced throughout the conference was the need to report incidents and share data between organisations. Business Crime Reduction Partnerships like ALERT are most effective when businesses, law enforcement, and local authorities actively engage with them. Crime prevention is not just about security measures—it’s about communication, intelligence-sharing, and a unified approach.
Sophie Jordan, CEO at the National Association of Business Crime Partnerships (NABCP) shared how the organisation plays a crucial role in supporting schemes like ALERT throughout the UK. NABCP helps coordinate efforts between business crime partnerships, police, and the wider business community to strengthen crime prevention strategies and improve collaboration at both local and national levels.
Using ALERT, Norwich businesses gain access to crucial crime prevention tools, real-time updates, and a network of support from other businesses facing the same challenges. By sharing intelligence, identifying repeat offenders, and improving communication with law enforcement, businesses can help create a safer and more secure city.