Cathedral Quarter and St Peters Quarter step up security during second lockdown

Cathedral Quarter and St Peters Quarter step up security during second lockdown

Derby city centre’s two Business Improvement Districts have joined forces to increase the security presence in the BID areas.

The Cathedral Quarter and St Peters Quarter BIDs have employed a security firm to carry out patrols of the city centre streets throughout the night and early morning seven days a week.

They will check on properties, be the eyes and ears on the street and report any issues to partner agencies such as Derbyshire police and Derby City Council Streetpride team. This is in addition to the daytime patrols by the Cathedral Quarter and St Peters Quarter Ranger teams seven days a week and who worked throughout the first lockdown as part of their role to be the conduit between businesses and partner agencies.

Martin Langsdale, chair of the Cathedral Quarter and Helen Wathall, chair of St Peters Quarter explained that the move was to provide greater reassurance to businesses in the BID areas over the second lockdown period. In a joint statement, they said:

“Working together to tackle crime and anti-social behaviour is a key priority for both the Cathedral Quarter and St Peters Quarter BIDs and it is important that we continue to be proactive and flexible in these continued challenging times.

“The BIDs’ Ranger teams did a brilliant job during the first lockdown – checking on premises, reporting any issues to partner agencies and alerting businesses where necessary.

“The Cathedral Quarter and St Peters Quarter will be busier during this lockdown – particularly during the day and early evening with more retailers offering click and collect and food and drink establishments providing takeaway and delivery services.

“However, we are mindful that the darker nights can result in a rise in crime and anti social behaviour in the city centre and we have therefore employed a security firm to carry out night time patrols in the BID areas.

“This will hopefully act as a deterrent, ensure prompt action is taken to apprehend those responsible for criminal activity and also enable issues to be quickly reported to business owners and partner agencies so that remedial action can be taken to secure premises to protect them from further damage or theft.

“The move has been welcomed by Derbyshire police in particular with whom we have a positive working relationship and we hope that this gives businesses greater peace of mind in what will be a challenging time for many.”

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