Hertfordshire’s PCC and St Albans BID
Hertfordshire Is Rolling Out ShopSafe County-Wide
Hertfordshire’s Police and Crime Commissioner, Hertfordshire Constabulary and St Albans BID started a 12-month Alert pilot in St Albans in 2026. It has since expanded to 1,500 more businesses across the county. Retailers share information with each other and report straight to the police. See how your area can do the same.
“That Information Is Shared With All Your Colleagues”
Claire Furnell-Williams introduced Alert to St Albans businesses on launch day, with one message: everyone needs to report.
A business can report a crime or an attempted crime from a phone or tablet and upload a photo. It’s shared with shops across the area, and the police can see everything as it happens.
- Report from a phone or tablet, with a photo
- Shared with nearby businesses in real time
- Direct access for the police
250 Cameras Feeding the Network
St Albans Council’s CCTV control room watches over 250 cameras across St Albans, Harpenden and the surrounding villages.
Operators can spot people before a crime is committed, track them, and share that intelligence with ShopSafe members quickly.
- Over 250 cameras across the district
- People spotted and tracked before crimes happen
- Intelligence shared with ShopSafe members fast
The Hertfordshire Model
Retailers, BIDs, the police and the PCC’s office sharing information across the county.
This joining up of business improvement districts, the police, PCC’s office is so important in having that ability to share information right across the county.
Alert connects Hertfordshire’s county-wide partnership, which brings together:
- Retailers
- St Albans BID
- Hertfordshire Constabulary
- The PCC’s office
- St Albans Council CCTV
What Your Area Gets with Alert
The platform Hertfordshire chose for its county-wide rollout, ready for your area.
Report Straight to the Police
Direct-to-police reporting simplifies how retailers report incidents, and improves the police’s ability to take action.
- Direct-to-police reporting
- Simpler reporting
Evidence Ready for Court
Retailers upload good-quality evidence such as CCTV straight into police systems. Clear-cut cases can move into Op Retail, the Constabulary’s pilot with the CPS.
- CCTV upload
- Op Retail
Every Shop in the Loop
Reports and photos are shared with businesses across the area, so everyone knows what’s happening in real time.
- Real-time sharing
- Photo reports
CCTV in the Network
St Albans Council’s control room shares what its 250+ cameras see with ShopSafe members.
- Control room
- Tracking
Partnership
The Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner, leading the county-wide rollout
Where the 12-month Alert pilot started, with St Albans businesses
ShopSafe
Technology partner providing Alert and direct-to-police reporting
Bring the Hertfordshire Model to Your Area
See the platform Hertfordshire chose, and talk through what a rollout would look like for your retailers, BIDs and police.
