Police, Business sign up to Crime Prevention Forum

Police and Business sign up to Crime Prevention Forum

Police and business will today sign off on a formal agreement that will see the two groups working at together at a national level for the first time.

Deputy Commissioner for Police, Viv Rickard said the Crime Prevention Partnership Forum (CPPF) was a high level partnership between Police and business.

"The forum came into being because of a desire for a more productive relationship between Police and business, one that could work collaboratively to prevent and disrupt crime.

"We have a number of agreements in place with individual business interests such as the retail sector, but this is the first time Police and business have worked together collectively at a national level in any sort of formal capacity.

"Business provided a significant but untapped resource to prevent and reduce crime," Mr Rickard said.

The CPPF has undertaken a number of initiatives already including analysis of crimes such as bank robbery, sharing of information on fraud offenders, consultation with members on insurance investigation standards; and discussions on crimes such as retail theft, stolen vehicles, and assaults on taxi drivers.

"The upcoming Rugby World Cup is a prime example of where we all have a common interest in preventing crime, Mr Rickard said.

Forum members have begun work with Police to respond to the Rugby World Cup 2011 looking at potential crime prevention measures for both visitors and the public, security at venues, travel and accommodation, security and transport.

"We have a lot of combined talent and experience in this group. Clearly working together is going to make us a more effective force against crimes like retail theft, fraud, and robbery.

The Forum will combine the resources and goodwill of members to improve community safety through:

• developing crime prevention initiatives nationally

• sharing information effectively to disrupt criminal activity

• aligning resources and activities to effectively prevent crime

Mr Rickard said the Police were providing infrastructure and a coordination point for communication, but the Forum is designed to act as a collaborative partnership.

The CPPF members are:

NZ Security Association (NZSA)

Insurance Council of NZ (ICNZ)

NZ Retailers Association

NZ Bankers Association (NZBA)

NZ Institute of Professional Investigators (NZIPI)

American Society for Industrial Security International (ASIS)

Association of Certified Fraud Examiners (ACFE)

NZ Taxi Federation

Motel Association of NZ

Telecommunications Industry Group (TIG)

NZ Police

ENDS

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