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Tuesday, 21 March 2006 |
The hugely successful city council-led project to crack down on shop crime is extending into Dundee’s communities.
The DUNCAN (Dundee Co-ordinated Anti-Crime Network) is now being joined by shops at the heart of neighbourhoods across the city.
Fintry’s 1st Stop 2 Shop was the first to join, followed by CJ Lang’s local Spar outlets and now also the Somerfield shops in the city.
City council economic development convener Councillor Joe Morrow met representatives of the shops to help launch the community phase of DUNCAN.
The DUNCAN scheme started in the city centre and has grown to cover Lochee and Broughty Ferry. The multi-agency partnership brings together police, the council and retailers who work together to prevent crime and to stop thieves from wrecking businesses.
The project also works to build up community safety by raising awareness of the steps taken by those involved in DUNCAN to reduce crime and the fear of crime.
Councillor Morrow said: “This further expansion of DUNCAN is testament to the excellent work that has been carried out across the city by the members of the scheme.
“I am very pleased that shops in the heart of our communities have now decided to become involved. This is a move that will bring the benefits of DUNCAN to many more people and I am sure that strong partnerships will be forged in these neighbourhoods.”
Mohammed Issa, from 1st Stop 2 Shop, said: “This is a great idea to extend the DUNCAN initiative to Dundee's neighbourhood areas, which gives neighbourhood retailers opportunities to crack down on retail crime. I would urge retailers to join the DUNCAN initiative which would assist in bringing them together to identify persistent offenders and share intelligence to try and combat retail crime.”
Hamish Tait, of CJ Lang, added: "The DUNCAN scheme is a practical and effective way to address the rising problem of retail crime, involving the police the council and the retailers and by sharing information, identifying persistent offenders and taking action to deny them access to these premises I think a real difference can be made. In the past, retailers located in communities away from the city centre and the main shopping malls missed out on crime initiatives and it is pleasing to see this scheme has extended beyond these boundaries and uses existing legislation to combat the spiralling issue of retail crime."
In the neighbourhoods involved, the partners in DUNCAN will work together on:
· Identifying persistent offenders and sharing intelligence
· Providing advice and training on how to deal with crime and criminals
· Looking for solutions to problems which occur outside businesses but have an affect on trade
· Reinforcing the importance community shops have in being essential for the communities they serve by including them in community based projects
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