THE WORK to make Northampton town centre a ‘no-go zone’ for criminals has been boosted by new funding to extend an app that allows retailers to share intelligence around crime and anti-social behaviour.
The Northampton Town Anti-Social Behaviour Reporting Scheme enables town centre businesses to collate and share intelligence on anti-social behaviour and low-level crime.
It was launched by Northampton Town Centre Business Improvement District in partnership with Northampton Business Crime Partnership and has now received funding from the Office of the Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner that will see its work extended for a further 12 months.
The BID’s operations manager Mark Mullen said the funding will cover around 85% of the cost of the programme for the next year.
“The system is designed to support a robust and collaborative approach to dealing with low-level crime and we are working with multiple partners to ensure criminals are given a clear message that they are not welcome in our town centre,” he said.
“The NTARS system has been extremely well-received by our levy-paying businesses who use the platform to record any issues or actions concerning anti-social behaviour.
“It significantly increases our resilience to anti-social behaviour and is a prime example of the independent spirit our businesses show in ensuring Northampton is a safe and welcoming place to visit.”
The NTARS feeds directly into West Northamptonshire Council’s ASB Case management team and into NBCP, based within Campbell Square Police Station. The information is used by the ASB case officer and police and has a cross-flow of information and intelligence with Northamptonshire Police.
Danielle Stone, Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner for Northamptonshire, said: “I have made a clear commitment to taking a stronger approach to retail crime so that our retailers and other businesses are protected from harm and this initiative is looking more broadly at starting to create a safer, more comfortable environment for everyone who visits or lives in Northampton town centre.
NTARS runs both on a computer and via a mobile phone app, meaning that if a business is a member of the scheme, all appropriate staff can have access to the platform.
Businesses can directly report instances of anti-social behaviour, including begging and street drinking, as well as ‘low level’ offences such as environmental criminal damage, graffiti and fly-tipping.
The system also allows businesses to report areas of rough sleeping with a view to encouraging earlier interventions from appropriate agencies.
NTARS includes viewable ‘galleries’ of ASB offenders and members can report actionable intelligence into the system. This includes static images or CCTV stills.
The PFCC said: “I am pleased to support this initiative which is all about bringing people and organisations together to collaborate and tackle crime and I am looking forward to hearing how it is making a difference to crime, anti-social behaviour and people’s feelings of safety in Northampton.”
Council extends town centre’s taxi marshal scheme to boost night time economy
TAXI marshals will be on duty more in Northampton town centre after a decision to extend the service to special events and holidays.
The service, which launched in December to help people travel more safely during peak night time economy periods, sees marshals positioned at the taxi rank on Mercer’s Row between 11pm and 5am on Friday and Saturday during pay weekends, Bank Holiday weekends and other busy periods.
Now West Northamptonshire Council, which operates other Safer Nights Out initiatives, has extended over a trial period to cover dates of events such as the A Perfect Day Festival, Northampton Pride and Ibiza fest.
The marshals are responsible for making sure females on their own, vulnerable people and those accompanying children are safely supervised when using taxis as well as addressing any conflicts arising on the taxi rank and reporting any incidents to the Licensing Authority and Northamptonshire Police.
The pilot scheme will run initially until September 2025 and has been funded using Safer Streets 5 funding led by the Office of the Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner and delivered by West Northamptonshire Council.
Cllr David Smith, cabinet member for planning and communities, said: “So far, this innovative pilot has proved fantastic in helping us to improve the Night Time Economy in West Northamptonshire and make Northampton town centre a safer and more welcoming place to enjoy a night out.”
Other projects and improvements in the night time economy include taxi rank lighting upgrades, more CCTV cameras and Safer Night’s Out routes and help points. Northamptonshire Police also staff permanent operations around predatory behaviour in the town centre.
