Pioneering scheme to turn around the lives of prolific offenders in Birmingham supported by Central England Co-op

Posted by rob smyth | Published: 23/01/2020


Central England Co-op is supporting a pioneering programme aimed at helping prolific shoplifters in Birmingham turn their lives around.

The retailer, which has over 240 stores in 16 counties, has linked up with West Midlands Police to support a unique project aiming to have a long-term impact by helping the offenders rehabilitate and transform their lives while also reducing crime in the communities it is based.

James Kelly and Paul Brookes have agreed to join the Offender to Rehab programme which aims to help them turn their back on crime. James and Paul between them carried out nearly 200 known offences – including shoplifting – and served several prison sentences, all to sustain their heroin and crack cocaine addictions.

The pair were identified by PC Stuart Toogood, from Erdington Neighbourhood team, who was able to get them into Livingstone House, a male only residential drug and rehabilitation programme in Small Heath.

Despite the Society introducing a range of new measures to tackle crime and enjoying a 30% reduction in robberies during the past two years, shoplifting continues to be one of the biggest obstacles faced by colleagues in stores.

This led to Central England Co-op linking up with West Midlands Police to try this different approach to tackle persistent offenders in Birmingham.

Hannah Gallimore, Corporate Responsibility Manager at Central England Co-op, said: “We work extremely hard to put in place a raft of measures to try and make sure that our stores are safe places to work and shop for colleagues, customers and members.

“However, unfortunately, incidents such as shoplifting do take place. As well as working closely with partners such as local police forces to bring criminals to justice, we also want to try and back projects that can not only put an end to crime taking place but also help turn the lives around of those involved.

“This is why we were delighted to link up with West Midlands Police and PC Toogood to help Paul and James on their journey in rehab.

“The innovative project is one that has targeted not just the most prolific offenders but also the ones that are willing to make changes.

“We are so proud of the progress that Paul and James have made and we are committed to continuing to support them and this programme as we have seen for ourselves the incredible benefits it can make to the community and, most importantly, the people taking part.”

Paul and James have now successfully completed their programmes and have been clean for seven and five months respectively.

The two men are now in aftercare in dry houses, and are continuing to work on their relationships with their families, especially their mothers who have supported them through their journeys. 

Paul, 42, said: “Rehab has helped me set a foundation for going forward. By adopting the 12 steps of recovery I have learned coping mechanisms and can talk openly about my feelings.” 

James, 33, said: “I just want to say to anyone that’s struggling with it – there’s always hope. Just reach out and ask for help. There’s help out there.”

PC Toogood said: “Shop theft can very often be perceived and treated as low level crime, but this should not be the case. In my experience, the vast majority of shoplifters only commit these offences to support a serious drug addiction.

“They have led a life of drugs, crime and prison and their addictions have never been tackled efficiently. Our scheme has most definitely seen a reduction in shop theft locally, reduced the risk of violent incidents towards staff and, importantly, has resulted in hundreds of thousands of pounds not going into the local drugs economy which in linked to serious and organised crime.

“We are delighted that Central England Co-op has been the first business to come on board and work with us, and, in turn, be able to talk to other businesses about their positive experiences  -giving them confidence to become involved as well.”

The success of the project has resulted in the Society talking with several other police forces covering across its trading region – including Staffordshire Police – about implementing and support other similar schemes.

Central England Co-op stores now host a string of measures to try and stop incidents and protect colleagues, members and customers.

Stores are fitted with external motion detectors and a centrally monitored CCTV system fitted which allows colleagues to call for assistance at the touch of a button.

These sit alongside a range of others such as product GPS trackers, additional ATM anchors, gas suppression systems and stringent cash controls, all of which are designed to keep customers and colleagues safe as well as actively promoting the fact that targeting convenience supermarkets is not ‘worth the risk’.

In 2019, the retailer launched a further campaign warning would-be criminals that violence and aggression towards colleagues will ‘not be tolerated’.

 

Notes to editors

Picture caption: James Kelly and Paul Brookes with Central England Co-op Corporate Responsibility Manager Hannah Gallimore.

Please find a link below to a film showcasing the story of Paul and James:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Clk5BC8miP4&feature=youtu.be

 

About Central England Co-operative

 

Central England Co-operative is one of the largest independent retail co-operative societies in the UK. 

 

It is a modern, forward-looking organisation employing over 8,000 staff, with the Society’s principal areas of activity being food, funeral services, travel shops, and property investment.

 

Central England Co-operative has over 430 trading outlets across 16 counties including; West Midlands, Warwickshire, Worcestershire, Staffordshire, Derbyshire, Leicestershire, Rutland, Nottinghamshire, Northamptonshire, Lincolnshire, West Yorkshire, South Yorkshire, Suffolk, Norfolk, Bedfordshire and Cambridgeshire.  The Society has an ambitious food store development programme for 2020.

 

Central England Co-operative is proud of its reputation for ethical business practices and corporate responsibility.  It is a member of Business in the Community, the membership organisation that stands for responsible business, and has also won many business awards for excellence.  The Society supports several charities including Dementia UK and invests a percentage of its trading profit into local communities.

 

Becoming a member of Central England Co-operative offers a whole host of benefits ranging from collecting points every time you spend in store to earn a share of the profits, access to members activities and community initiatives including the Community Dividend Fund, which hands out grants of up to £5,000 to charities and good causes across the Society’s trading estate.

Find out how to become a Central England Co-operative member by calling 0800 0501 601, emailing members@centralengland.coop or visiting https://www.members.coop

 

For more information visit www.centralengland.coop, follow Central England Co-operative on Twitter: @mycoopfood, and on Facebook: facebook.com/centralenglandcooperative

 

Rob Smyth and James Brindle at Central England Co-operative on 01543 421390

 

Email –publicrelations@centralengland.coop