While CCTV systems, security patrols and radio communications are common in all shopping centres, some are taking extra steps to ensure their malls are safe and secure.

The security team at The Mall, The Retail Park and The Venue at Cribbs Causeway, Bristol, has become the first private organisation in the south-west to receive full accreditation under the Community Safety Accreditation Scheme (CSAS), a new community police initiative introduced in 2006.

This gives the 30-strong security team additional powers to curb anti-social behaviour at the centre. The team works closely with Avon and Somerset Constabulary to target visitors who demonstrate unacceptable behaviour, including playing truant, dropping litter, spitting and cycling on footpaths.

In addition they are able to confiscate alcohol or cigarettes from under-age people and issue Fixed Penalty Notices where appropriate.

Jon Edwards, commercial director at The Mall, says: "We place a high value on providing a safe, secure and clean environment for people to shop and relax at Cribbs Causeway.

"Gaining full accreditation will now give our staff the power to deal effectively with those few visitors who don't comply with our code of conduct and refuse our polite requests to behave sensibly and legally. It will also form a useful structure for staff development."

To gain full accreditation, every member of The Mall's team was personally vetted and assessed by Avon and Somerset Constabulary.

At Gunwharf Quays in Portsmouth, the centre, in partnership with Hampshire Constabulary, has embarked on the Home Office approved ShopWatch scheme.

Six volunteers from retailers and centre management at Gunwharf Quays have been trained as Special Constables, who spend periodical work days on uniformed patrol at the centre. They act as additional eyes and ears for the regular police and are able to act on the spot should incidents such as theft, fraud and anti-social behaviour occur, therefore reducing crime and saving on police resources.

In addition, Gunwharf Quays has provided Hampshire Constabulary with rent-free accommodation for a police community liaison facility at the scheme, providing community workshops on crime prevention for members of the public and information on police community initiatives.

Peter Emery, operations manager and special constable at Gunwharf Quays, has been presented with a Hampshire Occupational Command Unit award by Hampshire Constabulary for his commitment and achievements in driving the ShopWatch Specials scheme. He says: "We have a duty to ensure that Gunwharf Quays is a safe place to shop, eat, drink, work and live. This is a positive scheme for Gunwharf Quays as the system is intimidating to potential offenders while Special Constables offer additional reassurance to shoppers.

"We are actively promoting the scheme among Gunwharf Quays' staff and tenants and hope to have a total of 14 trained Special Constables by the end of 2007."

MetroCentre in Gateshead, meanwhile, continues to maintain that security initiatives remain high on the agenda, despite crime being at its lowest in the mall's history.

Northumbria Police, based at the centre, has recently moved to new state-of-the-art premises in MetroCentre's Blue Mall from their existing unit on the exterior of the centre. The new offices boast a reception area accessible to shoppers visiting the centre, a training room for use by Gateshead Area Command and office accommodation for up to 11 officers.

MetroCentre Management and Northumbria Police continue to work closely together on a number of security initiatives, which is reflected in a very low crime rate at the scheme. One initiative sees MetroCentre working closely with the North East Retail Crime Partnership and law firm Ward Hadaway under a pioneering scheme, which hits shoplifters in the pocket. As well as getting a criminal record for their crime, the civil recovery scheme allows the centre to get shoplifters to pay damages for their crimes even if the goods they attempted to steal have been recovered intact.

In the first three cases MetroCentre was the injured party and was paid £650 by the criminals - who haven't been seen since.

Terry Atkinson, security services manager, says: "We decided to implement it at MetroCentre because we felt that there was more to civil recovery than the value of goods stolen or damaged. There was a cost to supplying security resources and I wanted something back."

He adds that the scheme started slowly, with retailers not understanding that 'no win, no fee' meant exactly that. But a recent surge in cases being won against 'career thieves' has meant more retailers are signing up to the scheme.

"Shop theft has halved, not necessarily because of the scheme," says Atkinson, "but it is significant that only one of the people we have claimed against so far has been seen in the centre since proceedings began, and in that case we are taking further proceedings.

"We have noticed that as well as the number of reportings going down, so too have stock losses."

The scheme goes hand in hand with other security initiatives including exclusion orders and a Retail Crime Partnership, which incorporates MetroCentre Management, the police, Europa Security and approximately two-thirds of the centre's 330 tenants.

The Partnership holds regular meetings for retailers to share information on criminals. Since the Partnership formed, commercial crime has almost halved, vehicle crime has reduced by 95 per cent and this reduction has allowed the police more time to devote to the wider community.

MetroCentre general manager Barry Turnbull says: "MetroCentre and Northumbria Police have an excellent working relationship and our joint initiatives continue to ensure the centre remains one of the safest places in Britain to shop."

Advance Security is also investing in the future of the sector with the creation of a dedicated shopping centre division. Set up after several years of research and development into the specific needs of the shopping centre environment, the new division is the first part of a three-pronged investment into the sector, which also includes the development of a specialist BTEC training qualification in shopping centre security and the appointment of a national operations manager.

The curriculum for the new BTEC qualification has been developed with Paul Keeling from Senate Training and covers a range of skills from offender profiling and conflict resolution through to first-aid training and dealing with lost children.

Keeling says: "Shopping centre security requires a careful balance between creating an atmosphere of safety and enjoyment, while ensuring public protection and being confidently assertive when required."

The new initiatives are a reflection of the company's commitment to the sector moving forward. Sales and marketing director for Advance Security Richard Bailey says: "We work with every level of shopping centre management, from tenants and centre managers to some of the largest shopping centre operators, and the overriding pressure for all of them is the need to balance customer safety with commercial practicalities.

"A good security service should be an asset, so we need to ensure that our solutions are relevant and price sensitive. It's ultimately about delivering peace of mind - for everyone involved."

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