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Shopwatch
In September 2002, Hemel Hempstead was given a Safer
Shopping Award, part of a scheme run by the British Retail Consortium
and promoted by the Home Office.
Hemel Hempstead Town Centre management, the local
police and retailers have worked to boost community safety and
reduce crime through ARCH (Against Retail Crime in Hemel). ARCH
Shopwatch uses a radio system enabling members to contact each
other, the CCTV Centre and the police immediately. This allows
a member to alert all other users to an incident and summon the
appropriate response.
Shoplifters will often try and run away. If they
do so, the early use of cameras allows the CCTV operators to track
the offenders through the town constantly updating the police
on their whereabouts - many offenders have been caught in this
way.
The number of shoplifting offences have greatly
decreased from June 2001 to December 2002, with Christmas 2002
particularly quiet.
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