CRIME PARTNERSHIP

HARROW BUSINESS AGAINST CRIME

The Harrow Business Against Crime (HBAC) partnership is a collaborative crime reduction initiative led by the Harrow Business Improvement District (BID) in partnership with the Metropolitan Police and the London Borough of Harrow. It aims to create a safer town centre by helping businesses work together to prevent and respond to crime and anti-social behaviour as part of the BIDs SAFE series of initiatives.

HBAC covers all aspects of safety and security of business premises and staff in the Harrow town centre through our extensive partnership working, BID ambassador, Townlink radio scheme, DISC secure information system and offender exclusion scheme. HBAC also provides extensive training and guidance on threats to businesses and their operating environment through our Business Continuity Plan, strategy meetings and police counter terrorism training including Martyn’s Law.

Key objectives

• Reduce business crime and anti-social behaviour
• Share intelligence lawfully between businesses, police and partner agencies
• Support the identification, apprehension and prosecution of offenders
• Reduce the fear and impact of crime on businesses, staff and customers
• Improve the safety and security of Harrow town centre
• Issue exclusion notices to persistent offenders where appropriate
• Strengthen partnerships between businesses, police, council and other organisations

NABCP ACCREDITATION

We are proud to have been awarded NABCP Accreditation for outstanding work with the HBAC Business Crime Reduction Partnership.  The National Association of Business Crime Partnerships runs the National Standards Accreditation and is the benchmark of excellence for BCRPs in the UK. Achieving accreditation demonstrates professionalism, integrity, and effectiveness, giving businesses, police, and local authorities confidence that your partnership operates to the highest national standards.

HBAC has met all the criteria and has exceeded on three sections.  The BID is very pleased to have achieved accreditation and will continue driving down crime and anti-social behaviour in Harrow.

Security Model

Our Harrow Business Against Crime scheme co-ordinates a multitude of associated partnerships and services.

DISC

HBAC is powered by our secure offender database called DISC which enables members to share restricted images and information regarding shoplifters and offenders. DISC is completely GDPR compliant and allows the partnership to issue exclusion notices to repeat offenders, banning them from over 130 member premises in the town centre.

There are over 270 known offenders on the system currently and the partnership meets every 2 months to issue exclusions, discuss issues affecting the town centre and develop strategy to tackle emerging crime trends.

Through DISC, we have seen a stock loss reduction, a reduction in repeat offences and several new CBO’s (Community Behaviour Order) which have removed our most troublesome, repeat offenders. There is a weekly DISC report sent to members detailing the latest bans, fast time crime alerts for emerging issues and a monthly HBAC update in the BID newsletter, detailing the latest crime figures for Harrow.

Some highlights from the DISC system in 2025 are as follows:

• 575 incident reports
• 354 new offenders added to DISC
• 132 known offenders
• 222 ID Sought offenders
• 28 HBAC bans in total
• 48 years of bans in total
• 43% stock loss recovered
• Theft, ASB and begging highest ranking offences

Click here to join DISC

BID AMBASSADOR

As part of HBAC, HA1BID provide an SIA trained BID Ambassador who is dedicated to patrolling Harrow town centre and provides daily support for local businesses.  The BID Ambassador’s role involves identifying and reporting on grot spot environmental issues, assisting businesses in their day-to-day operation and helping combat crime, ASB and security issues.

As well as creating a professional and friendly first impression for visitors, the Ambassador acts as the eyes and ears of the town centre – ensuring issues are quickly reported, supporting businesses with up-to-date information, and strengthening connections across the BID area.  He liaises with different council departments to make sure environmental issues are addressed and helps support nearly 200 businesses by sharing BID news, events and opportunities directly with them.  The Ambassador is here to support businesses however he is on hand to assist with crime or any other antisocial behaviour and can help businesses by reporting an offence directly to the police via DISC or our Townlink Radio system.

To arrange a visit from the Ambassador email: neil@ha1bid.co.uk

TOWNLINK RADIO

We run the Harrow Townlink Radio System which provides fast-time communication between member businesses, CCTV control room, the police and other security personnel in the event of an incident.  The radios are used everyday to help tackle shoplifters, deter criminals and provide support in the event of an emergency.  The system currently has over 70 users with 50 businesses working together to ensure offenders are identified and tracked through the town centre to prevent them committing crime.  Townlink is also used to great effect in an incident where mobile phones may not work and advice from emergency services is required.

The cost per handset is only £6.45 per week, to sign up to this vital security tool, please email matthew@ha1bid.co.uk

BUSINESS CONTINUITY PLAN

Is your business prepared for a major incident?

HA1 BID is always identifying any potential threats to the successful running of the town centre. Businesses can be vulnerable to a major incident and risk damage to their premises or risk the inability to continue trading successfully. If this happens, what would you do? How long could you continue trading if there were a fire, flood, gas leak or even a terror related attack.

The best way to identify and mitigate the risks to your business functioning well is to have a specific Business Continuity Plan for your premises and staff.  A Bizcon plan will enable you to identify where you may be vulnerable, address any areas of the business that need support and continue to trade even in the face of significant disruption. HA1 BID provides a free Bizcon template for you to use to protect your business and staff by knowing what the risks are and being prepared for any eventuality.

Business Continuity Plan – Word version

HARROW BEST BAR NONE

Best Bar None  is an Accreditation Scheme supported by the Home Office and the drinks industry which is aimed at promoting responsible management and operation of licensed premises. The BID has trained staff members who inspect licensed premises and help to ensure our pubs and restaurants offer high standards of care to their customers and meet their legal responsibilities.

Venues who pass the various social, welfare and health & safety checks receive accreditation plaques and each year awards are given to the best venues in various categories at an awards evening held locally. The event is a highlight of the BIDs yearly event calendar and celebrates a safe and well managed evening economy for the Harrow town centre.

Like our Facebook page for updates and see images from our latest event here: Awards Night 2026

ASK FOR ANGELA

We want to help build a society where everyone feels safe, supported and able to look out for one another, whether that is on a night out, at a venue or in other public spaces.

Ask for Angela exists to help make that possible in practical ways by supporting individuals, venues and organisations to create safer environments by providing accessible training, clear guidance and practical resources that help people know what to do when support is needed.

By raising awareness of the scheme and helping it work well in practice, we aim to foster a culture of trust, confidence and mutual support, where people feel more able to ask for help and more ready to offer it.  If you run a venue in Harrow, signing the Official Ask for Angela Pledge is a simple, formal way for you to show commitment to operating the Ask for Angela scheme responsibly and consistently.