How Plymouth’s uniformed PARC Rangers are working with businesses in the city centre to reduce crime and support police

At the time Ian Warmington took over as Co-ordinator of Plymouth Against Retail Crime (PARC), he did so with more than 25 years retail experience under his belt and a desire to provide practical, front-line support to businesses in a way that hadn’t been delivered before in the City centre.

With the very best of intentions, he experimented with taking on two plain-clothes store detectives to combat shoplifting but found they went largely unnoticed by the shops and stores.

So Ian set about creating a team of PARC Rangers, security officers with high visibility uniforms, equipped with body-worn cameras and radios linked to a central control room to provide a front-line deterrence against low-level crime and anti-social behaviour.

Since the launched in 2015, the PARC Rangers have grown into a six-strong team. They work a shift system seven days a week operating within the ring road, which borders the City centre.

The Rangers deal with more than 2,000 incidents every month ranging from helping businesses combat retail crime to tackling street drinking, substance misuse and begging.

Trained to provide first-aid assistance, they are often first on scene to help members of the public who collapse or fall in the street or anyone who is the worse for wear through drink and drugs, before paramedics arrive. They also help direct tourists and have become regarded by businesses as ambassadors for the City.

PARC’s achievements have been recognised by a Business Crime Reduction Partnership (BCRP) award from Police Crime Prevention Initiatives (PCPI), a national police organisation, which works alongside the police service to encourage and deliver safer communities.

The BCRP accreditation process is based on a set of standards owned by the National Business Crime Centre (NBCC) and include good management practices and procedures such as membership agreements, data security and compliance with current legislation. It includes having robust information for members and partner organisations that is up to date as well as making it easily accessible 24/7. For some BCRPs, the standards will include the use of CCTV and radio links with members.