Shropshire Star

Call to have £5,000 crime fund returned to Bridgnorth traders

Questions have been raised as to why thousands of pounds intended for Bridgnorth's Shopwatch scheme has not been released.

Published

The £5,000 fund is currently being looked after by Bridgnorth Town Council.

Business owners who gave the money are now bidding to have it returned to make the scheme to tackle shoplifting a reality.

The matter was brought up at a meeting of Bridgnorth's CCTV Committee.

Councillor David Seipel said: "As I see it, the intention was the money was returned to the people who gave it in the first place. Bridgnorth Retail Crime Initiative gave the money, so why don't we give it back to the body?"

Councillor Geoff Davies said: "There's an account that's been opened with an account number and we've got the names of all the contributors and the simple thing is to give the money back to the account. It's not rocket science. It shouldn't be this complicated."

Bridgnorth clerk Anne Wilson said the issue would be discussed by the town's full council, adding: "The council needs to see the details of the body. We need to make sure the money goes back to a bona fide body. We have a duty to ensure it goes to the best organisation and individuals."

She assured councillors who questioned why it had taken a year to release the money that it was still available.

Ms Wilson said the council had passed a resolution to repay it and the next full council meeting would further discuss the issue.

Pc Stuart Lippitt said Facewatch, a different scheme, is already ongoing in the town, offering an online crime reporting and networking system.

He said: "Facewatch is going on in the community already. We are working with them, we're not financing it, but we are explaining police procedures for the way it works.

"If there's a firm interest after the first month, there will be a community meeting.

"We've had shop radios in the past, there's a cost for maintenance, the way we see it, technology has moved so far from where we were 10 years ago, that we feel Facewatch is a better option for the community to consider.

"A lot of criminals travel from Telford, Wolverhampton or Worcestershire, but with Facewatch we would know who they are."

Councillor Davies added: "It seems to me that we need both of these systems. It's an advantage for you to have a bank of people who have committed offences, but what we're worried about in Bridgnorth is that when there's a break-in, we want a direct link to a nearby officer."

Sorry, we are not accepting comments on this article.