In many towns and cities the evening economy can be a major source of crime, disorder and anti-social behaviour. The effect of this, if not managed properly, is to deter ordinary people from enjoying the amenities and services in areas around the local 'club land'. For example, cinemas, theatres, restaurants or other amenities not linked to alcohol, can suffer as fear of crime may discourage people who are apprehensive about confrontation with younger people or violence. Business Crime Reduction Partnerships offer evening economy businesses a very real and practical support mechanism, which is designed to help partners tackle these real and potential problems. We urge all businesses, which are part of the evening economy, to be proactive and to join as soon as possible.

The evening economy has a major part to play in the safe, effective and responsible management of all types of licensed premises. Safer Socialising has been commissioned by Safer Lambeth as a mechanism for the management of individual licensed premieses. Where the evening economy is well managed everyone wins: consumers are encouraged to come into town centres and businesses and local economies flourish.

The key to managing the nighttime economy lies in the effective joining-up of resources. Safer Socialising is a business led initiative aimed at reducing crime and anti-social behaviour.

A “total community involvement” approach to crime and disorder, the Safer Socialising initiative is the next step in building an efficient partnership network and cooperation between the business community and the statutory agencies. It offers businesses a solution that “ticks all the boxes” with the council, the police and the local community and protects premises, staff and customers from the crime and disorder that damages the business community. Working hand in hand with the Safer Lambeth Partnership this cooperative business led approach assures that the community as a whole is “on board” with a total crime and disorder prevention mindset.

Safer Socialising is available to all licensed premises in the London Borough of Lambeth.

Establishments not participating in Safer Socialising will attract close police and local authority attention.

Three key elements of the initiative provide positive benefits to all businesses in Lambeth:

- A data gathering and sharing process between members and the Police, powered by NBIS (National Business Information System) which holds details of offenders and is used to produce target photo files with names of prolific offenders and the methods they use. Hard copies of photo files are distributed only to members of the scheme, who must sign a strict data protection protocol agreed by the Information Commissioner and the Association of Chief Police Officers and Safer Lambeth.
- An Exclusion Notice Scheme. “Banned from One Banned from ALL”. Photographs of banned individuals are placed into the target data file and breech of an exclusion notice will be treated as an act of anti-social behaviour. Together with the Police and Lambeth Council ASBOs will be sought for those who breech exclusion notices.
- A direct radio link to Lambeth’s CCTV control centre. Protocols agreed between the police, Lambeth Council and LBAC ensure the proactive use of CCTV to protect, deter and detect criminals. An orange panic button feature has been included for activation when any incident cannot be managed by staff and presents a physical threat to a member of staff or member of the public. An alarm sounds in the CCTV control centre and CCTV cameras are immediately turned to cover the premises in question. Linking CCTV to radios provides maximum protection for businesses.

Participation in this initiative demonstrates high standards of management and a cooperative commitment to crime and disorder reduction and the prevention of anti-social behaviour. It rewards premises and businesses that can achieve the accreditation standards.

Please contact the Lambeth Business Crime Prevention Coordinator or the Safer Socialising Coordinator on 0207 733 4825 for additional information.

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