IBP drives Manchester robbery prevention initiative
8 April 2003

A national anti-robbery initiative aimed at protecting small, vulnerable shopkeepers has gone on trial in Manchester thanks to IBP International.

		Michael Todd, Chief Constable of Greater Manchester Police, launches Raid-control™.

Raid-control™ was launched by Greater Manchester Police at the end of March and will run for six months. It came about as a result of talks between IBP managing director Digby Ram and New Scotland Yard, who were looking for ways to combat the increasing number of armed robberies on independent retailers. As Chairman of this important crime prevention partnership, Digby has been heading up a team of experts in raid-prevention including major retail chains, insurers, police and industry associations.

IBP has donated the Raid-control™ trademark to support the campaign.

Around 200 shops across Manchester have been targeted to receive Raid-control™ certification, after adopting a four-pronged strategy of protection against robbery. If successful, Raid-control™, which is aimed at small retail premises such as food and drink stores, pharmacies and off-licences, could be adopted nationwide, helping to safeguard small businesses up and down the country.

According to the Retail Crime Survey 2001, 16 per cent of these smaller stores have been a victim of robbery, with an average loss of £1,316. Food and drink stores are most at risk from till snatches.

Raid-control™ aims to combat robbery using four basic principles: raid prevention training, limiting the ready cash available, gathering evidence and rendering any spoils of a robbery unusable.

Neil Chrismas, sales and marketing director of IBP International Ltd, said: “In the 1990s we saw banks being targeted by robbers but they took steps to minimise the risk and became unattractive as a target. We then saw them move onto post offices and then travel agents, who also toughened up on security.

“As a result, smaller retailers were targeted and robberies started to increase in this area. Raid-control™ allows the retailers to arm themselves in order to make robbery on their premises too risky and with too little reward.”

IBP International, together with fire and security company ADT, offer a keenly priced package of products, to help retailers meet the Raid-control™ quality standard:

1. A time-delay drop Raid-safe™ in which shopkeepers can drop their cash, leaving their till with the bare minimum for customer change.

2. If the shop is robbed then Raid-cam™ captures quality digital footage on a memory card, which can be removed for evidential purposes.

3. If the robber does get away with cash he will find it is automatically stained by special dye, which renders the money useless.

4. The fourth element is staff training and risk assessment to minimise the opportunities presented to criminals.

5. Finally, any shop certificated as meeting the Raid-control™ standard will also display GMP approved stickers as a deterrent to would-be robbers.

IBP supported the Metropolitan Police with a pilot for Raid-control™ which was run in Croydon, Surrey, involving 19 pharmacies who had been victims of robberies 14 times in just six months. Following the pilot, the numbers of offences was reduced to zero. The pilot has now been extended to cover convenience stores.

For further details email info@ibp-group.com or telephone +44 (0)1428 641399.