Bookmaker staff and customers safer since Safe Bet Alliance

This week, the UK’s high street betting shops published our updated Safe Bet Alliance.
When it launched in 2010, it was the first time the industry had come together to work with police forces and other bodies to tackle what was then a high rate of robberies of betting shops in London.
Generally, betting shops offer customers and staff a safe and secure place to enjoy their leisure time or work. As with any other retail business, bookmakers can and do suffer from crime, including robberies and work-related violence.
The Safe Bet Alliance was created to tackle these crimes – by taking steps as an industry and by working with law enforcement and other partners, including the Metropolitan Police, Community Union (representing staff), Crimestoppers, local government and the Institute of Conflict Management.
In the months after its launch, the number of robberies of betting shops in London alone fell by 60% in two years and the initiative was awarded the Home Office Tilley Award in 2011.
Since then, the industry, Community Union, the police and other stakeholders have revised and updated the SBA, building on the experience gained since 2010. The new guidelines cover issues ranging from how to work most effectively with local police teams, front door safety and how best to protect lone workers, providing secure areas of retreat.
We have also been working with Greater Manchester Police and Police Scotland on a campaign called “Robbery – Odds on you’ll get caught” and with Nottinghamshire Police to reduce robberies in betting shops.
Official statistics from police forces show that the measures are really having an impact, the UK’s betting shops now have among the lowest level of crime of all high street retailers.
Statistics compiled by the Association of British Bookmakers show this puts the betting industry on a par with fast food outlets and with far fewer incidents of crime than food stores, clothes shops or pubs.
The figures compiled from Freedom of Information requests to UK police forces show the number of incidents of crime reported by the following retails sectors between 1st January 2013 and 31st December 2013. Over half of the forces responded with the information.
Fast food outlets 2,163
Betting Shops 2,269
Clothes shops 6,226
Pubs 18,989
Convenience/food stores 59,431

Peter Craske, the Association of British Bookmakers Ltd