Retailers within the North East market town of Stockton-on-Tees will this year put their foot down to stamp out retail crime and anti-social behaviour with the launch of SentrySIS, a retail focused crime intelligence app.

The Stockton Business Improvement District has partnered with the tech crime platform called SentrySIS to roll out the powerful new crime prevention system across the town centre for BID levy payers.

The SentrySIS system, that launched earlier this month, will provide the police and local retailers with cutting-edge intelligence to help tackle shoplifting, anti-social behaviour and other low-level crimes in the area.

Stockton BID Manager Jason Maxwell commented on the initiative and said “SentrySIS will help support the variety of crime prevention initiatives the BID is implementing throughout 2024. It will be the missing link between levy payers, the BID and the police while bringing the best technology on the market to help fight this type of crime and anti-social behaviour.”

At the heart of the SentrySIS platform is an AI-powered app that shares real-time alerts, incidents and notifications between business owners, national retailers, the police and other authorised users. Retailers can use the app to log incidents with the Stockton BID admin team, share CCTV images and keep abreast of known offenders in the local area. Police officers on patrol can also benefit by receiving alerts instantly on their smart phone devices.

Retailers and the police can access a cloud-based dashboard providing data-driven insights on when and where crimes and anti-social behaviour are occurring in the town. This means that retailers can adapt staff rotas and security provisions accordingly, putting preventative measures in place during peak crime times.

Chris Nriapia from SentrySIS said “We are thrilled to be launching SentrySIS in Stockton and to be supporting the BID and their local partners in helping to make the town a safer place. We believe SentrySIS will significantly help reduce low level crimes in the area while also driving footfall and strengthening relationships with the police.”

Key features of the system that are available to all end users include: Real-time incident logging and CCTV/media sharing, instant in-app alerts, known and unknown offender database, heatmaps showing high-risk hotspots and instant messaging between users.

Nriapia continued and said “We are equally excited at the prospect of working closer with Cleveland Police to investigate technologies such as online crime reporting for retailers which have already proved very successful in neighbouring police force areas across the North East.”

The rollout of SentrySIS in Stockton aims to support the economic regeneration of the town centre by making it a safer, more welcoming environment for businesses, shoppers and visitors. This piece of work supports other regeneration-focused initiatives Stockton BID are delivering to support businesses growth as part of their wider business improvement district aims and objectives.

To gain access to the SentrySIS system, levy payers within the Stockton BID area can contact manager@stocktonbid.co.uk for more information.