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Welcome to the Scarborough Anti Theft Group Business Against Crime exclusion notice scheme.

Please find attached the exclusion notice package, for your immediate attention. There is a need for a united approach in tackling business crime in Scarborough and this initiative has been established as part of the crime reduction strategy of the Scarborough Anti Theft Group Business Against Crime partnership. This provides assistance to you and your business in the following areas:

· A collective approach in dealing with persistent and prolific thieves and
troublemakers by excluding them from the member shops, stores and
businesses.

· Protects staff from acts or the threat of physical violence and verbal abuse.

· Reduces the fear of crime in members' premises, for the benefit of staff,
customers and the public.

· Frees up resources otherwise spent observing and apprehending repeat
offenders.

· Encourages greater economic investment by creating and promoting a safer
place to invest and work.

The scheme, which is supported by police, is a civil agreement between you and other businesses within the group's partnership area of operation, where you will collectively ban habitual offenders or troublemakers who may not have committed an offence in your premises. In joining, it must be stressed that for the scheme to be successful you must be prepared to eject an excluded person from your premises immediately and on every occasion they enter, despite the fact that the individual may not have committed an offence against your business. There will only be a relatively few offenders receiving the exclusion notice enabling the scheme to be manageable. It is important to note that these individuals will be responsible for a significantly high proportion of offending and anti social behaviour in the area.

By joining the Scarborough Anti Theft Group Business Against Crime partnership you will be part of the exclusion notice scheme and be expected to support and enforce the scheme on the understanding that you will be challenged if you fail to do so.

Should you have any queries or need clarification on any aspect of the exclusion notice scheme, please contact the partnership co-ordinator.

1. Introduction

1 The scheme operates by utilising the business community as one voice thereby
sending a strong message to those persistent thieves and troublemakers, who
regularly intimidate and harass staff, by telling them that we know who they are
and that they are not welcome in the our area.

2 Many of the offenders are well known to both businesses and police and cause a
considerable drain on resources, with arrests sometimes leading to violence with
the potential for injury to staff.

3 This has a detrimental effect on trade and the impact on peoples' perception of
crime and the fear of crime is significant

4 The scheme will be run on a day-to-day basis by the partnership coordinator and
overseen by the board of management (BoM), or their nominated representatives,
who are elected in accordance with the partnership constitution.

5 In addition to administering the scheme, the coordinator and BoM will be
responsible for liaison with members and outside agencies and organisations.

Exclusion notice schemes are an effective means of managing offenders and ensuring that they are deterred from committing crime.

We will provide window stickers advertising your commitment and inclusion in the scheme and notes for your information and guidance.

2. Objectives

2.1   These are:

· To exclude persistent and prolific offenders and troublemakers from members'
premises.

· To reduce the opportunity for crime and anti social behaviour to take place.

· To protect staff from acts of physical violence and verbal abuse.

· To reduce the incidents of crime and the fear of crime for the benefit of staff,
customers and the public.

· To improve the economic and general environment of our area, subsequently
improving prosperity within the area and helping to protect and create
employment.

 To encourage greater economic investment by creating and promoting a safer place to invest and work.

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SCARBOROUGH ANTI THEFT GROUP BUSINESS AGAINST CRIME

EXCLUSION NOTICE SCHEME