Welcome

Cutting crime in Bedford Town Centre is being aided by the latest technology - thanks to a partnership deal between North Beds Community Safety Partnership and the business-led BedfordBID.

This is a scheme under which all shops are linked by radios through which they can share information, contact BedfordBID Bluecaps and alert the Police or the CCTV control room.

Currently 83 radios are used and these are being replaced this month and a further 17 added to make this one of biggest crime-fighting radiolink schemes in the UK.

The practical contribution made by the radiolink scheme is that crimes against businesses have decreased by 38% over the four-year life of BedfordBID.

The radio scheme targets retail theft and associated crime in the town centre and warnings of counterfeit money or credit cards being used can be relayed to anyone on the network almost immediately. The scheme is also used to reunite lost children with their parents.

Bedford Borough Council’s Sally Flint, of the North Beds Community Safety Partnership said: “This is good news for those who want to be reassured that Bedford is a safe place to shop, work and visit.”

Chris Wood, Retail Radiolink project manager of Bedford BID said: “The radios were definitely due for an upgrade. We're delighted to get the handsets replaced and even more delighted to add to the network as we now have over 80 businesses on the Retail Radiolink.”

The digital radios will allow for better signal reception and therefore greater flexibility in performance.

The funding has been accessed because of the special relationship between the CSP and the businesses represented by the BID (Business Improvement District). Bedford BID Executive Director Mo Aswat said: “This demonstrate another benefit of the BID - allowing access to Government funds which are only made available where a council and other agencies are show to be working with real businesses.

Marks & Spencer store manager Tom Perkins says: “The Retail Radiolink scheme is essential as it really is important for us to know what’s going on outside the store, so our security guards are aware of what’s happening. As a business we need to make sure we’re doing everything that we can to protect our stock and our customers.”