Peterborough Centre Safe Mission Statement
1. To Promote a Safe and Friendly Environment in Peterborough
City Centre at all times, especially late night.
2. Identify and eliminate persistent trouble -makers from the City
Centre, through a process of partnership between business
premises, CCTV, local authorities and the Police.
3. Assist the Police in ensuring a Zero Tolerance to City Centre
crime, by aiding with the apprehension and punishment of
trouble -makers.
4. To enhance the “Safe and Secure” concept for customers who
visit and staff who work in City Centre businesses late night.
5. To use a “Banned from One Banned from All” policy to reduce
the number of offenders from the City Centre.
Peterborough Centre Safe Modus Operandi
The common goal of PCS is to make Peterborough City Centre a safe place at all times for all citizens. Special emphasis is being made with respect to late nights and weekends, when there is an increased likelihood of alcohol related criminal activity, i.e., violence, disorder, etc.
All businesses participating in PCS will be equipped with a dynamic radio link to the Peterborough CCTV Control Centre, and be able to report incidents, problems and offenders immediately. This same mechanism will be used to notify, warn and advise other local businesses of potential trouble -makers, thereby ensuring no safe haven for offenders. Furthermore the system can be used to track offender’s movements around the City Centre, thereby assisting Police to apprehend offenders.
The main goal of PCS is to make Peterborough City Centre safe for respectable citizens and a no go area for persistent trouble-makers, by ensuring they are not welcome at City Centre businesses they have no respect for. PCS would also push for exclusion orders for persistent offenders and trouble -makers, especially those involved with violence and drugs.
To date some 32 Peterborough businesses have signed up with PCS.
Business Types subscribing to PCS:
Nightclubs Bowling Alley
Bars Theatres
Pubs Shops
Hotels Pool Hall
PCS History & Background
Peterborough Centre Safe (PCS) came into being in June of 2002 and superseded the existing pubwatch scheme in the city centre which had had a poor take up and wasn’t working. The Police and local Council's CCTV Unit set up a three way partnership with city centre licensees. The Police wanted licensees to take the lead and drive the project and help in the reduction of crime in the city centre, particularly at night.
The scheme’s 12 original member venues were issued with livery in the form of the PCS logo which let patrons know that their venue was a part of the scheme and was linked by radio to CCTV, Police and other venues. The tag line of; "Banned from One, Banned from All" was and still is the PCS mantra.
During 2004, membership of PCS rose from 12 to 28 venues, and now included the less obvious places to drink such as the Bull Hotel, Lakeside Super Bowl and Key Theatre.
The net effect of PCS was an increase in the numbers of incidents being reported and the number of arrests being made by Police in the city centre at night. The scheme became as important to the city as street wardens and was even saving lives! Although the remit was to reduce crime, PCS members had;
• Helped report drunk drivers and ensured these people were
caught before they mowed someone down
• Helped catch thieves that had broken into cars and stolen
property
• Helped locate and keep safe missing from home kids, until
social services and or parents could collect them
• Helped find mentally ill and vulnerable people missing from
hospital - preventing them coming to harm
In addition to this there was the apprehension of drug dealers, knife carriers and those who had caused GBH to others in the streets.
In 2005, the Police launched the PEP initiative Peterborough Evening Partnership and this used government funding to help PCS put in place schemes such as metal detectors on venue doors to find weapons, knives, etc. PEP with its broader connections and funding also set up a website.
In 2006 PCS had been operational for almost 4.5 years, and now has some 32 members and has helped reduce violent crime by almost 21%, but there is still ignorance about PCS and the contribution local licensees make to help Peterborough. The good news stories are overlooked in favour of attention grabbing headlines in the local media, but behind the scenes a dedicated group of people are working to keep the city centre safe at night and help everyone have a good time safely.
