Central England Co-op has revealed plans to roll out a range of measures to deter criminals from targeting its c-stores and protect its staff during an incident.
External motion detectors are being installed across the society’s food stores and a centrally-monitored CCTV system is being used to allow staff to call for assistance using a panic button.
The new motion detectors will be in operation outside of trading hours. When activated they will switch on CCTV cameras to record any incident and contact police if needed.
Central England Co-op loss prevention manager Marianne Nyambo said: “We are aware that incidents such as robberies and ATM thefts are frightening for store colleagues, who are our first priority.
“We will be using a central monitoring system that will allow colleagues to press a button to alert a special control room who will then be able to watch what is happening on CCTV and call for immediate assistance from the emergency services if required.”
The system is designed to speed up the society’s reponse to crime. The monitoring will be overseen by the Co-op secure response team from their Alarm Receiving Centre.
Head of Co-op secure response Lee Hammond said: “Co-op Secure Response is all about the people, and ensuring our stores and communities remain safe places to work and live.
“We have worked hard over the past seven years to ensure that the services we offer are the very best for us and our clients’ businesses, and are looking forward to working with Central England Co-op to help protect their colleagues, customers and business.”
The security centre is monitored at all times by a team of accredited security professionals. It uses state-of-the-art technology to control almost 7,000 CCTV cameras across the country.
The Central England Co-op’s new security improvements are being rolled out to food stores across Derbyshire, Leicestershire, the West Midlands, Northamptonshire, Cambridgeshire, and Yorkshire.
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