posted by AM_admin
Our Hillstreet Shopping Centre Team named Team of the Year 2020 by the North East Retail Crime Partnership
We are delighted to kick of the year with the fantastic news that our team at the Hillstreet Shopping Centre in Middlesbrough has been given the accolade of 2020 Team of the Year by the North East Retail Crime Partnership (NERCP).
The NERCP is a not-for-profit regional organisation that works with the retail community, police and crime prevention agencies to help tackle retail crime in the North East. Sharing information with over 2000 national and regional retailers, local authorities and the region’s four police forces, the NERCP aims to protect the safety of retail staff and customers, as well as supporting retail profit, and economic stability and growth.
Colin Smith, Operations Manager for Hillstreet, commented: “We have a small but amazing security team who are committed to working hard for the shopping centre and for our local and regional community. They have been nominated previously for this prestigious award, and what a time to take the top honour in what was a year of unprecedented challenges.
In 2020, our retailers had to manage reduced trading, increased compliance, and staff sickness, amongst the harsh impact of Covid-19. We also needed to support them in dealing with an increase in opportunistic crime, including shoplifting and antisocial behaviour. The AM Services Group team at Hillstreet consistently worked over and above what was required of them, liaising with the local authorities and linking with police intelligence units, to tackle cross-border criminality, disrupt criminal activity at local level, and keep offenders out. They also quickly embraced and efficiently employed the new methods imposed by the pandemic for successfully bringing criminals to justice. And, equally importantly, the team became a valuable resource for providing relevant information and for pointing people in the right direction for getting the most appropriate help.”
The Hillstreet team were diligent in ensuring that essential information on travelling gangs and repeat offenders was shared as soon as possible on the region’s web-based, real-time, crime reporting portal. The NERCP operates using offender-led intelligence to identify an individual’s motivation to commit crime and, by looking at an offender’s profile, future patterns of offending can be predicted and members forewarned of associated risk. The NERCP works closely alongside the Safer Middlesbrough Partnership where Hillstreet’s Colin Smith and AM Services Group’s site manager Malcolm Donnelly are proactive in giving support.
Since 2015, the AM Services Group security team has worked in partnership with the Hillstreet Shopping Centre to take safety and customer service to the next level. This is carried out in a supportive and non-confrontational way to support a positive customer experience for retailers and visitors alike, making everyone feel safe, comfortable and assured. Hillstreet is at the heart of Middlesbrough’s shopping experience and, like all top-class shopping facilities, the centre welcomes thousands of customers each day.
Our AM Services Group’s Commercial Director Ashley Kirk added: “This is an outstanding achievement for our team and is a well deserved award for a great team effort, as well as recognition of the close partnership we have developed with our Hillstreet colleagues over the years: a true example of our ‘one team, one goal’.”
