The Hastings Area Business Crime Reduction Partnership’s 2026 Annual Report covers the scheme’s work through 2025–26. The partnership has 360 member businesses, with 368 people holding access to the DISC database after a clear-out of unused accounts, down from around 500. Logins are still up 10% on the same period last year. Two staff employed by the Love Hastings Business Improvement District run the scheme, so membership costs nothing beyond the BID levy. A £6,000 annual grant from the Safer Hastings Partnership covers software licences, radio data, insurance and membership of the national BCRP association.
Members can draw on 28 town-centre CCTV cameras. The partnership has now answered more than 450 police requests for footage since Sussex Police introduced its NICE upload system. The Zello 4G radio network carries text, images and recorded calls, and members now rely heavily on it.
The biggest change is in crime reporting. Almost 900 crime reports went to Sussex Police through DISC in the past 12 months, up from around 400 the year before. Members also submitted more than 300 pieces of intelligence. The database names 283 known offenders, with nearly 500 more still to be identified. New names were confirmed in all but one month.
Joint work with the police has also moved on. Under Operation Apprentice, the partnership helps build files on each district’s most prolific offenders, including incident reports, CCTV and statements, ahead of criminal behaviour order applications. Those applications now request a geo-location tag. Through Operation Stop, Hastings helped pilot the first electronic tagging of persistent shoplifters in October 2025. Wraparound support for addiction and other underlying issues is being developed alongside the tagging.
Theft remains the most common incident, followed by verbal abuse. Violence is rare but reported most months. Members logged just over £77,000 in losses, up 10% on last year. The true figure is far higher: one reformed prolific shoplifter said he was sometimes stealing £600 a day.
There are warning signs. In the most recent 30 days, incident reports fell 57% and crime reports fell 67% compared with the same period last year. At the same time, more new faces are being added to the system each month. The partnership will be watching whether this reflects less crime or fewer reports. It is also talking to the provider of the platform some national retailers have moved to about sharing data.
