New crime reporting tool welcomed by Devon seaside town businesses

Businesses in Teignmouth are uniting to stand in solidarity against retail crime, anti-social behaviour and violence by signing up for free to an online crime reporting tool linked directly to the police.

UK Partners Against Crime (UKPAC) Business Crime Reduction Partnership is being funded for 12 months in the town by Police and Crime Commissioner Alison Hernandez. So far, 10 businesses, as well as Teignmouth Town Council, have signed up with more applications pending. 

The online portal, also available as a smartphone app, enables traders to easily report crimes and share intelligence, empowering communities to work together against persistent and repeat offenders. Police can instantly access the information to build stronger evidence files, increasing the chances of successful prosecutions and reducing crime on the high street.   

Jo Gask, owner of The Healthy Pet Shop, has led the way in spreading the word about the scheme in the town to ensure that as many businesses as possible to sign up to make it more successful. 

She said: “We are a close-knit community so we all help each other out. UKPAC has come at just the right time because shoplifting numbers are going up. 

“I started by spreading the word to food shops, including large chains as they tend to have a lot of problems. I haven’t got a problem in my shop, but my background is in security hence when I am so keen to put a stop to it after being made aware it is increasing in the town.  

“The uptake won’t be slow here as we already all communicate together. If something is going on in one shop word soon gets around to stop it happening elsewhere. I am now targeting the night time economy such as bars and fast food outlets.” 

Revealing how easy UKPAC is to sign up to and report incidents, Jo continued: “UKPAC were really helpful when I set it up. The main thing for me is when you report something the police can see it immediately and it forms a bigger picture to get a better case against offenders which really helps.

The Commissioner said: “The important thing to remember about UKPAC is that it’s not only for reporting what has happened in your premises; you can also report incidents you witness such as in the high street. It helps build up a really strong case against offenders and can result in action such as exclusion orders from town or antisocial behaviour orders. 

“I want Teignmouth to lead the way by having all businesses signed up to UKPAC.” 

For more information about UKPAC and to sign up visit https://uk-pac.com/