Police Services Week Of Action In Bid To Reduce Business Crime

The Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) has launched a week of activity today (October 14th 2024) in a bid to reduce business crime. During the week they will be connecting with the business community and urging them to report any crimes against themselves and their premises.

The police will be conducting high visibility patrols in towns and cities across the country, engaging in a range of crime prevention activities and applying targeted interventions with known offenders. They believe that if they raise awareness of business crime it will help to significantly reduce its prevalence over the course of the year.

Encouraging Businesses To Report Criminal Activity

Here is what Superintendent Allister Hagan said about this new initiative, as quoted in an article on the 4ni website. He said that:

“This year, we will be focusing on encouraging businesses to report criminal activity to police, to help tackle some of our most prolific offenders. We are aware that our business community do not always contact police when dealing with this type of offence, but through increased engagement and crime prevention initiatives; we hope this will provide reassurance that our officers are there to help.

“Through our local Neighbourhood policing officers, we want retailers and businesses to engage with police to help us target our approach to reducing business crime. Under reporting is an issue that police are aware of, but we want all members of our local communities to come forward if they have been a victim of crime or see something suspicious. This information is vital in apprehending offenders, focus resources and ultimately reduce crime and anti-social behaviour.

We Have An Extremely Diverse Range Of Businesses In NI

“We have an extremely diverse range of businesses for shoppers visiting our town and cities. This is one of the key elements that makes Northern Ireland a great place to work, live and socialise. We hope that further businesses will see the potential of making towns and cities across Northern Ireland their home.

“Our towns and cities have some of the lowest crime rates in the UK. We want retailers, businesses and the local community to feel safe when shopping and doing business across Northern Ireland. Working closely with our key stakeholders and partner agencies, we will continue to make towns and cities desirable and prosperous where business crime is not tolerated and will be dealt with robustly.”

We all need to play a part in driving down the level of crime in our communities and this initiative should be given everyone’s full support.