H & Jodies ASB

We first reported in September that retailer Harjit Singh (second left) had embarked on a drive to reduce antisocial behaviour in his community – but at the time, no one could’ve precited how much of a success that scheme - named Project Phoenix - would become.

The owner of H&Jodie’s Nisa Local had teamed up with Walsall Council in an initiative to reduce shoplifting, intimidating behaviour and the very real possibility that youths in his area would go on to lead lives of crime.

Six months on, and speaking exclusively to Convenience Store, Harjit says he’s been delighted with the engagement the community has shown to Project Phoenix.

Utilising a local security firm to patrol the streets initially around four different areas of Walsall, the scheme touches many businesses. “They’re going into McDonald’s, into Spar, Co-op, Lidl, Aldi, Savers, B&M – they’re all having lots of trouble with antisocial behaviour and I’ve just had some meetings this week and the results we’re getting are really good,” he explains.

“McDonald’s managers are saying now on camera that since we’ve had these guards patrolling, the anti-social behaviour has gone down. And the families are just starting to come and eat in the restaurant in the evenings now because they feel safer.”

It follows that convenience stores should also start to feel the benefits of the scheme. “The main problem was shoplifting. B&M were suffering bad and savers were suffering too. Co-op, obviously - they’re always a soft target. The Spar in the village and basically all the retail…”

In the scheme, the initial team of two security guards patrol the area – checking in with stores and any youths they see who might be showing signs of antisocial behaviour. Across the four areas covered by Phoenix, seven youngsters have been identified and engaged with to date.

The engagement involves the parents, but also a sort of signposting scheme where the youths are pointed towards organisations like boxing clubs, the Scouts and martial arts classes. There is also engagement with schools, and QR codes are planned for the guards to show which offers links to clubs and services on offer.

In a lovely moment of synergy, the local police have not only been welcoming of Project Phoenix, but have benefitted from it themselves.

“We’ve actually got the Chief Inspector turning up at our meetings now and they absolutely love what we’re doing!

“They’re actually emailing RG8 security [the company working on the scheme] and asking them to get to McDonald’s in Brownhills or deal with this and deal with that. So the police are already very, very much leaning on our initiative and the communication between the two is getting better and better. We share intelligence and best practice and we’re looking at getting the guards to have some initiatives that will give them more powers too”

H & Jodies blue sky

The enthusiasm is shared by the council, who, along with Nisa’s Making A Difference Locally (MADL) scheme, have been the source of funding for the project. “I’ve been totting up the figures and we’re on about just over £102,000 that’s gone into this project now, in just over a year,” Harjit says. “We got about £30,000 from MADL. I have a great relationship with Kate Carroll there, she’s been brilliant. But I’ve had so much help from every person. I’ve had complete support from the council, the council leader. I’ve had complete support from the school, which have offered all their facilities, their theatre - so all our meetings are in their theatre at the school.”

Harjit also suspects his scheme is in fact doing what the police force simply can’t. “The Chief Inspector is so happy with our project that she said in front of the council that it’s so good it needs to carry on being funded, because they can see the value for money. For the police to deliver what we’ve delivered would cost them probably 10 times that, and they know that.

“The Chief Inspector is so happy with our project that she said in front of the council that it’s so good it needs to carry on being funded.”

“So if we keep shouting about what we’ve achieved, what we’ve got to do next is to get these kids into these clubs and make testimonial videos to say that this kid was picked up in B&M and, with his parents’ help, he’s successfully been going for three months and he’s loving it and he’s off the streets. If we keep doing that then the funding should keep coming…”

Also on the horizon for Project Phoenix is an expansion, with two more regions being included in the scheme, along with two more guards. “Walsall Wood and Shire Oak have now joined us. We had another meeting with the leader of the council and mentioned these guys are on foot, so we asked if they could provide some bikes - and straight away he paid, and now they’re on electric bikes!”

But ultimately, the proof of the scheme’s success should always be measured by the effects on the community. And that has been nothing but positive, Harjit says. “I was talking to the head of the Neighbourhood Watch and he was telling me that the whole atmosphere in Pelsall is completely relaxed now since these guards have been out there. He’d been talking to the public and everybody’s saying it just feels better.

“A bit of intervention with a 15- or 16-year-old early on will save the community a lot of money…”

“The motivation comes, for me as a victim of crime in the past, I’ve seen people who are complete crime waves and cost the taxpayer millions of pounds, and to me, a bit of intervention with a 15- or 16-year-old early on will save the community a lot of money. The council, the probation service, the justice system, the prison, the legal aid. It’s the return on investment that we’re going to get from the Phoenix Project. What we’re putting into Phoenix, in my opinion as a retailer, from my experience - I know the return is going to be tenfold.

“That’s where the satisfaction comes from for me. I’ve had kids come back and fist-bump me, saying “Respect H”. Those are the kids that would be trouble, kids that aren’t allowed in classes. But instead of stealing from my shop, they’re coming in and giving me extra money or giving me respect. So everyone’s a winner…”