The first full year of the City Watch scheme under the management of Canterbury BID has been a significant period of growth, development and partnership working. The scheme continues to play a crucial role in supporting businesses across Canterbury by providing a secure communications network, improving intelligence sharing and helping to create a safe and welcoming city for businesses, employees, residents and visitors.
A major milestone this year has been the introduction of the Canterbury BID Street Team. The Street Team provides an important presence within the city centre, acting as ambassadors for Canterbury while also supporting the safety and wellbeing of businesses and visitors. Their responsibilities include assisting businesses with reporting issues, engaging with the public, identifying anti-social behaviour, supporting vulnerable individuals, and acting as a visible deterrent to crime and disorder. Working closely with businesses, Kent Police and council enforcement teams, the Street Team has helped strengthen the operational delivery of the City Watch scheme.
Key partners involved in the scheme include:
- Kent Police
- Canterbury City Council enforcement teams
- Canterbury CCTV control room
- Whitefriars shopping centre security
- Canterbury BID Street Team
- Street Pastors
The DISC reporting platform remains the central tool for sharing intelligence between businesses and partners. Members can log incidents such as shoplifting, abusive behaviour, suspicious activity, and anti-social behaviour, allowing patterns and repeat offenders to be identified.
This intelligence helps partners to:
- Identify crime hotspots
- Track repeat offenders
- Support police investigations with actionable evidence
- Inform operational patrols and prevention activity
A note from our Chair, Mark Stuart
Canterbury BID, the new custodians of City Watch, have made significant achievements in the first year of operating the scheme. Following a challenging period for the Canterbury District Watch in recent years, City Watch, now led by BID Operations Manager Jamie Bentley and the Street Team has gone from strength to strength. The foundations have been carefully laid for future success including accreditation with the National Association of Business Crime Reduction Partnerships and greater partnership working with our members and local stakeholders. As the Chair of the Steering Committee I share the confidence of our Chief Executive Lisa, Jamie and his team that we can make this City’s crime reduction partnership amongst the best in class in the years ahead.
