CCTV and Retail Radio

Retail Radio is a handheld radio system that enables retailers to communicate with other stores in our six town centres - Balham, Clapham Junction, Putney, Tooting and Wandsworth (Southside). It is monitored by our CCTV control room and the borough's Police Safer Neighbourhood Teams. The system is used to:

• Alert stores to suspicious characters or fraudulent behaviour in the area
• Alert CCTV to monitor specific areas for suspect activity and
• Communicate with Safer Neighbourhood Teams (though 999 remains the prime emergency number).

Retail radio:

• Provides a very fast and secure way for shops to exchange vital information about actual and attempted thefts, assaults, fraud and other retail crime
• Alerts everyone listening to the transmission simultaneously
• Helps reduce retail theft and other types of crime
• Is successfully used in shopping centres throughout the UK
• Is low cost and subsidised.

Participating retailers are provided with a handheld radio on a local frequency, enabling them to contact all local users simultaneously. After payment of a one-off joining fee of £45, the radios are provided by the council at a cost of around £18.50 per month. This will be invoiced annually at £222. The service provides fully supported use of a radio, two batteries and a battery charger for as long as the retailer remains in the scheme (comparable commercial schemes are over £500 a year).

If you are a retail manager and wish to join the Retail Radio scheme or are already signed up and have a query, please contact us.