The sheer power of presence

Small, smart interventions matter

Let’s cut to the chase.

Our STEP UP initiative has been live in Durham and Bristol for almost two months now.

It’s been a free-of-charge “pilot,” yes – but nothing about it has been a test-run in terms of effort. Everything we’ve rolled out has drawn on ASEL’s years of frontline experience and expertise.

The big focus has been on tackling anti-social behaviour and youth violence – challenges I’ve written about extensively in the past few weeks.

And right from the outset, we knew progress wouldn’t happen in a vacuum. So we’ve worked hand-in-hand with retailers. With schools, police, and the wider community.

From collaborative patrols to shared staffing and resources, STEP UP has been one big collective push to send a clear message: anti-social behaviour won’t stand.

And we’re really proud to say we’ve seen progress.

Crunching the numbers

In Durham a major focus area for this initiative has been Dragonville Retail Park. In Bristol, it’s been Cribbs Causeway. Based on our reports from ASEL officers on the ground, here’s a rundown of what we’ve been dealing with:

In Durham:

• 84 incidents
• 29 related to anti-social behaviour – almost 40% of reports (normally we’d expect that to be ~10%)
• 29 theft-related incidents (usually the dominant category at ~80-90%)

The rest included violence, fraud, and other offences. The higher share of ASB than theft goes to show the prevalence of the issue we’re striving to tackle with STEP UP and beyond.

In Bristol:

• 102 incidents in total
• 101 classed as anti-social behaviour
• Only one theft recorded

Yes, that’s a wild skew. Almost certainly, some of those ASB cases had elements of theft too, but the picture is clear: ASB was the overriding concern.

That’s over 180 total incidents tackled across just these two retail park sites.

And remember – our teams on the ground can only report what they’re directly involved in. There’s always more going on in the background – with other retailer security teams, and out of sight entirely.

Engagement galore

So we’ve managed to nip plenty of instances of anti-social behaviour in the bud. But here’s the thing: as important as those numbers are, they’re far from the full story.
Because arguably the biggest impact of STEP UP in these two regions has been presence. Just being there. Being visible. That alone makes people feel safer. That alone can stop someone in their tracks before boredom or mob mentality turns to bad behaviour, and before bad behaviour turns to a more serious incident.

That’s why we’ve also been tracking engagement more broadly.

• 10 ‘good news’ stories in Bristol, and 25 in Durham. These are examples of officers going above and beyond their duty of assignment, whether it’s administering first aid or receiving positive feedback for providing general support
• 46 public engagements in Bristol, and 24 in Durham. These aren’t just box-tick statistics. They’re moments of genuine connection – including shoppers asking officers for help, chatting about the role of security staff, and simply stopping to say thanks. Being able to engage with our customers’ customers this way goes to show that security officers have a role and influence beyond just stopping crime.

ASEL officers have also reassured retail professionals throughout the initiative. As one Durham manager put it:

“I’d personally like to thank the officers who are having to deal with sometimes stressful incidents whilst maintaining a professional approach. We’re so grateful – it’s made a huge difference to the store team.”

That’s a terrific testament to what STEP UP has achieved.

Beyond the stats

Another big learning has been around peak days and peak times of issues. We now know, for instance, that 8pm on a Friday is the flashpoint at Dragonville. Not exactly shocking during school holidays – but vital intel for how we and retailers can plan resources.

It’s about patterns, sure. It’s also about preparedness.

One of our Account Managers, Gary Clark, paid a visit to ASEL officers at Cribbs Causeway a few weeks ago.

Trouble kicked off while he was there. A group of 10-or-so teenagers turned up, deliberately splitting up to stretch resources and cause disruption across multiple stores. Thanks to the combined presence of our officers, site security, and the dedicated Police detachment, the group was dispersed quickly and safely before things escalated.

Everyone kicked into action. They knew what they were doing and there was no delayed response. That incident drove home what STEP UP is all about: coordination, swift response, reassurance, and prevention. And the feedback from retailers on-site was overwhelmingly positive.

How will STEP UP step on?

The free pilot phase in Durham and Bristol wrapped up at the end of August. But the appetite to continue is huge. Existing retail partners have already expressed a desire for continued additional support and coverage. New retailers in both areas are now exploring partnerships with us – pending official tendering processes, of course. And those who’ve seen the difference first-hand are fast becoming our champions.

This is exactly how pilot projects should work: prove the concept, build trust, and open doors. We’re really pleased with how STEP UP has performed so far, and it’s by no means the end of the road!