PIKE - Recent Events
ID Theft and Fraud Event
ID Theft and Fraud Event
4th June 2008, Solaris Centre, Blackpool
On
4th June, the PIKE team held the event and was well attended by local businesses. Steve Jackson from the North West Fraud Forum was the main speaker and used his extensive knowledge of the credit/insurance industry to present a very useful insight into how criminal can target unsuspecting indivuals and businesses and commit fraud.
Steve demonstarted that it is so easy to get details off the internet using legitimate websites he was able to find basic information about some of the events attendees. This was very startling for those concerned and certainly put the message accross excellently!.
Steve's closing tips for trying to avoid potential ID Theft and Fraud are:
Be aware / Be alert
Avoid credit cards, passport, DL & NI Number together
Don’t lose sight of credit card
Keep card details and Fraud telephone numbers to hand at home
Don’t use obvious PIN
Protect PIN
Shred statements & receipts
Check credit file
Up to date virus protection
Protective measures – password on credit file
For more information regarding the North West Fraud Forum please click here
Buy Local
29th January 2008, Ewood Park, Blackburn
PIKE Advises Food & Hospitality Businesses
On
29th January, members of the PIKE team took a stand at the Buy Local 2008
food exhibition, which was held at Ewood Park in Blackburn. Over 200 local
businesses attended and PIKE advisors were able to talk to many of them
about the free support available through the project.
Feedback from local government and police authorities suggests that tourism and hospitality businesses are more likely to suffer from crime and disorder than many conventional businesses, so PIKE advisors have been keen to address this by targeting such companies for support.
Pictured are June Armstrong and Helen Chartier by the PIKE stand.
Personal Safety Workshop
30th November 2007, Solaris centre, Blackpool
On 30th November, the PIKE team held a 'Personal Safety' workshop at the Solaris in Blackpool. It covered lone working, personal safety and conflict management.
Workshop for the Professional Services Sector
20th September 2007, Solaris centre, Blackpool
Supporting Blackpool's Tourism Businesses:
In recent weeks, staff working on the PIKE project have been delivering support to many of Blackpool's tourism and hospitality businesses.
The
project began with a series of visits to the individual businesses to
ascertain to what extent each of them experienced problems associated
with crime and disorder. The most common problems identified were anti-social
behaviour and vandalism, largely involving groups of males aged between
14-30 loitering around the local streets and back alleys. In some cases,
businesses reported that this made them feel uncomfortable and apprehensive,
and there was also concern that it would make their guests feel both intimidated
and unlikely to return to the area for future holidays.
One of the responses suggested by the PIKE advisors was to reduce the opportunity for gathering points around their property and to improve peoples’ feelings of safety by enhancing the lighting levels around access points to the hotel. It was further recommended that local businesses become involved in a Hotel Watch scheme. This would bring together the neighbouring hoteliers and enable them to share their experiences and encourage a joint effort to combat the problems encountered in their locality.
PIKE will be supporting the small businesses, offering simple low cost, or in some cases no cost recommendations to improve all round security, establish a Hotel Watch in their area and become part of the wider Hotel Watch schemes across the borough.
In addition, staff have made further recommendations in an effort to address other business issues. These have included the following:
- Name and postcode marking all property that is valuable with a UV pen. Should such items be stolen and recovered, they can be scanned by the police showing the visible UV markings which makes it easier to return them to their rightful owner.
- Property Logs. Some guesthouses take guests' personal property and look after it in a safe for the duration of the stay. Guesthouses have been advised to create a signing in/out log and to produce disclaimers regarding all of the property taken. This helps to prevent any misunderstandings about the ownership, value and type of items left for safekeeping.
- Securing all external items such as ladders and tools outside the business - in yards and gardens - to prevent them being used by criminals to gain access to property.
For further information and advice regarding security in the hospitality sector, please contact the PIKE office.
Workshop for Lancashire Charities & Social
Enterprises
4th September 2007, GHS Centre, Preston
Attended by a variety of registered charities, social enterprises and community interest companies, this short workshop was held at the Gujarat Hindu Society community centre in Preston. Delegates learned about the support and advice available from the PIKE project and were invited to contact the project team in order to arrange a free site visit.
Crime Solutions, 3rd Annual Conference: "Partners
in Crime"
26th & 27th June 2007, Farington Lodge, Leyland, Preston
Focusing on "Business Crime" and "Crime & Society", this two day conference featured a series of presentations by expert speakers and workshops in which delegates got a chance to examine important issues such as identity theft, youth crime, business fraud and e-crime. An excellent networking opportunity, the event included lunch and a conference dinner at the end of the first day.
"Smoke Free" Workshop
14th May, Farington Lodge, Leyland, Preston
On
14th May, PIKE and North & Western Lancashire Chamber of Commerce
organised a workshop for owners and managers of hospitality businesses
such as hotels and restaurants. The event was held at Farington Lodge
in Leyland and was attended by hoteliers and other business people from
throughout the region.
The main focus of the workshop was to provide information and advice about the forthcoming "Smoke Free" legislation, which is due to come into force in England from 1st July 2007. The event was supported by Crime Solutions, and the Centre for Criminology and Criminal Justice at UCLan.
The ban on smoking in public places will have many practical implications for licensees and similar business managers, but there may also be an impact on crime, as several of the speakers pointed out. For example, unless careful control is exerted by landlords, it could mean that crowds of smokers develop around the entrances to pubs and clubs, thereby heightening the risks of arguments, public nuisance and potential violence on the street. Likewise, it may also mean that more people leave their drinks unattended, so there may be a greater risks of drinks being 'spiked.'
Delegates were informed of the likely impact of the forthcoming legislation, both in commercial terms - drawing upon case histories from Scotland and other nations where similar laws have already been enforced - and in terms of the legal responsibilities and liabilities of individual businesses.
