PARTNERING WITH RETAILERS
Become a 'business behaviour saviour'
NBCS Foundation Gala Dinner launches unique charity initiative to disrupt prolific shop theft and change lives.
Prolific and persistent shop thieves are used to ‘helping themselves’, and it’s usually to a retailer’s stock rather than trying to steer a new path away from criminality.
That’s because apart from the organised criminal gangs, store theft is a cyclical, relatively low-risk means to an end for opportunist individuals with often complex issues manifesting themselves in a wide range of anti-social behaviours.
These include drug and alcohol addiction, habits that require the quick fix cash and substance injection shackling them to a pattern of dependency and despair as well as long-term relationships with the criminal justice system.
The NBCS Foundation
Now there is an opportunity for a different kind of ‘helping themselves’ with the assistance of the very retail businesses their activities blight along every UK high street.
15th June 2023 sees the official launch of the National Business Crime Solution (NBCS) Foundation, a quid pro quo initiative that aims to positively transform the lives of people locked into this cycle of offending while at the same time assisting the retail sector in reducing high levels of persistent and prolific theft, incidents that are worryingly contingent to increased violence and aggression against store colleagues.
The NBCS Foundation is a brand new and UK-wide charity established to re-direct the lives of vulnerable people who often ‘steal to deal’ or are homeless and sleeping rough as a result of troubled lives or difficult back stories.
The launch, which will take the form of a gala dinner at the Manchester Suite at Old Trafford, the home of Manchester United in Salford, will see many leading retailers pledge their support for the initiative whose celebrity patron has been announced as Jacqui Hames, a former police officer and presenter of the BBC’s Crimewatch.
Described as ‘leading a new way forward’ for the retail industry, the ‘glittering’ gala evening of live entertainment and fund raising, including an ‘ultimate auction’ of prizes, provides the perfect opportunity to help businesses support the Foundation’s goals and those of the wider community the charity is already reaching out to.
There are still tables available on the evening for other businesses to take their seats at and make a stand. At £3,000, a table sale represents a donation that will fund a wide range of alternative pathways – from rehabilitation programmes to finding alternative accommodation for the homeless or even longer-term employment opportunities
Hosting the evening will be the NBCS Trust’s new chairman, PC Stuart Toogood, a still-serving West Midlands Police officer who has dedicated the last five years of his service to helping addicts and homeless people in Erdington, north Birmingham.
Stuart’s compassionate policing approach involved working closely with retailers as well as the same characters he has repeatedly arrested to be bailed and released to re-offend, often the same day in the predictable ‘eat, sleep, work, repeat’ manner.
Now in his new chairman role, Stuart said: 'It could be that we fund some places to rehabilitation, for example, or that we support those rehabs and recovery communities by purchasing desperately needed resources and equipment or pay for some well needed counselling for clients to address trauma rather than having to wait months to be seen.
“The support needs to be spread across those great projects that help our type of clients - so maybe we support a homeless project or even some food banks. After all, hardship is another reason that people will commit retail crime, and sadly we are seeing more and more people begging outside our shops.
“There are some great projects out there that help support offenders to get into work, so we can look to support these as well. There really is so much that we can do to make a difference to those projects working day in, day out to help the most vulnerable in society and who frankly cause the retail and business communities significant issues,” he added.
Sarah Bird, a trustee of the Foundation added: “We’ve already started a dialogue with a few supporting organisations and we have received a lot of support from the business community for the launch gala dinner at Old Trafford, but there is still more that can be done. We want to attract a wider range of businesses to attend – they don’t have to be NBCS members to be part of this important and unique initiative. Their support and their money will go a long way to providing rehabilitation activities that will change behaviours for the better.”
Chairman of the NBCS Tim Edwards said: “The Foundation is completely separate to the work of the NBCS, a not-for-profit organisation established to identify prolific offenders targeting the retail community. The Foundation, however, is all about helping individuals to help themselves with a wide range of support that can make a real difference to their future lives while at the same time supporting previously blighted retail communities.
“In addition, through an elected a panel, the business donors will also have a significant voice on how the money is spent and where the benefits can be seen,” he added.
There are still available tables for businesses to sponsor for the gala dinner which is open to both members of the NBCS and the broader retail community who want to see an end to persistent and prolific theft impacting their stores across the UK.
For more information about the work of the National Business Crime Solution Foundation, visit the website or contact enquiries@nbcsfoundation.org.uk
For table availability, email enquiries@nbcsfoundation.org.uk
