Efforts to tackle retail crime and antisocial behaviour, including within the night time economy in Devon and Cornwall, are improving thanks to the continued development of a coordinated Business Crime Reduction Partnership (BCRP) approach across Devon, Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly, which has already achieved some strong results.

It is now just over a year since the Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner began funding UK Partners Against Crime (UKPAC), which supports the partnership by enabling businesses to share information and intelligence more effectively. Traders can report incidents in just a few minutes via an app or online portal and share intelligence among the business community. This approach strengthens collaboration between businesses, local BCRPs, Business Improvement Districts (BIDs), and policing partners. UKPAC analysts can then build robust cases ready for prosecution.

UKPAC was first introduced as a pilot in Torquay in spring 2025 as part of the OPCC’s Street Focus project in the town. It was then expanded into other areas including Saltash, Liskeard, Barnstaple and Teignmouth, and continues to be rolled out across the peninsula, helping to underpin the wider BCRP network.

It is initially funded by the OPCC for 12 months with no cost and no obligation to continue after that period. The cost to continue using the tool has now been reduced by half to just £10 per month to make it more financially viable for businesses. However, the primary benefit sits in the strengthened partnership working and shared intelligence that supports long-term crime reduction.

There are now almost 1,300 members signed up to the Devon, Cornwall & Isles of Scilly BCRP ranging from small independent businesses, national chains and multiple BIDs demonstrating the scale of engagement within the BCRP network.

Between March 1, 2025, and May 28, 2026, 1,933 individual reports were made by businesses. The majority related to theft offences, alongside reports of verbal abuse, street drinking, threatening behaviour and antisocial behaviour. These reports contribute to a wider intelligence picture, enabling coordinated action through the BCRP rather than acting as a standalone reporting function.

During that period, information gathered through this partnership approach – accessible by Devon & Cornwall Police – resulted in 299 weeks of custodial sentences, the equivalent of 13 years of Criminal Behaviour Orders (CBOs) and one year, 18 weeks of suspended sentences.

These include:

• A three-year prison sentence for a Barnstaple man admitted to criminal damage, burglary and theft offences, alongside an eight-year CBO
  • A Community Order and compensation for a man responsible for multiple shop thefts in Exeter
  • A Plymouth offender convicted of 11 offences of shop theft and sentenced to 17 weeks in custody alongside a two-year CBO
  • A 50-week prison sentence for multiple thefts in Plymouth
  • A suspended sentence relating to assault and theft in Barnstaple
  • A 30-week custodial sentence for repeat shop theft in Plymouth
  • A custodial sentence of 102 days for multiple thefts over a three-month period.
  • A 24-week prison sentence for a prolific offender charged with 32 counts of theft in Liskeard.

The Devon, Cornwall and Isles of Scilly Business Crime Reduction Partnership (BCRP) was created to bring together local BCRPs and Business Improvement Districts to deliver a coordinated, intelligence-led response to business crime across the region.

Police and Crime Commissioner Alison Hernandez said: “The strength of this work lies in partnership. Bringing businesses together through the BCRP, supported by tools such as UKPAC, is helping to improve public safety and reduce repeat offending in our town centres.

“By sharing information and working collectively, businesses and partners are helping to build stronger cases and deliver meaningful outcomes. It sends a clear message to offenders, especially prolific offenders, that their behaviour will not be tolerated.”