Radio Link
The scheme collaborates with North Somerset Council CCTV and police to combat crime and disorder, whilst increasing personal safety and confidence amongst retailers and their customers. The simplest way to describe Radiolink is a network of businesses from each town centre, and sometimes outlying areas, all linked by radio to each other, the police and the CCTV operators.
The network enables offenders or suspected offenders who are known or seen to be causing concern to be spotted and tracked before they commit crimes against businesses – so it is a proactive complement to the area’s neighbourhood policing and response teams. The Police and PCSO’s carry Radiolink radios as well as their own. Radios are also installed in the CCTV room at the Town Hall, which covers the whole of the North Somerset.
Membership allows access to the DISC database information. The DISC database holds information on local offences from the most serious, to petty shoplifting and anti social behaviour and includes photographs of offenders. The information is constantly being updated and the source of which is Radiolink members.
Radiolink members can be any business that feels it would benefit, day or night time. Members also come from areas such as education and security who join because it offers an opportunity for them to contribute to the success of their own town centre.
How Radiolink works:
- Shop assistants, store detectives, and general security staff can carry radios
- Smaller stores can have a radio kept behind the counter
- Any messages sent from the radio are heard by everyone on the network.
- If a radio is stolen it can be stunned (disabled) remotely so the radio will be unusable (it can also be re-enabled when it is recovered)
- There is also a panic button alarm on each radio, giving peace of mind to some smaller stores with fewer staff for backup
For information about joining a Radiolink scheme please contact Steve Townsend.