Newsbeat Daily
TUNED-IN jewellers are on the same wavelength as police thanks to a ‘Retail Radio’ scheme set up by Birmingham West and Central LPU.
The retail radio scheme sees jewellers and other stores across the city share a radio link with officers so that they can flag up concerns and also receive regular policing updates.
The Jewellery Quarter Team
Jewellers have recently contacted officers on a number of occasions after being offered broken gold chains – a telltale sign of ‘chain snatch’ style offences.
Within seconds of receiving these messages, officers from the Jewellery Quarter neighbourhood policing team swooped from their Vyse Street base and made several arrests.
Jewellery Quarter police Sergeant Matt McVeigh said, “The retail radio scheme is proving especially successful in the area, with four people recently being arrested within seconds of trying to sell suspected stolen goods.
“My team has recently visited every jewellery store across the quarter to share crime prevention advice and guidance, and this partnership working appears to be paying off.”
Jeff Shuttleworth, chairman of the Jewellery Quarter Association, also commented: “The instant police response has been phenomenal in recent weeks and shows just how safe the Jewellery Quarter is for businesses, shoppers and residents.
“We are extremely pleased to have such a positive relationship with officers on our own doorstep and hope that this will continue for the considerable future.”
