New chief for Action Against Business Crime
Senior ex-police figure to chair retail forum
Sir Geoffrey Dear, the former chief constable of West Midlands Police and director of Reliance Security Services, is to become chairman of Action Against Business Crime, a joint venture between the Home Office and the British Retail Consortium.
AABC tackles crime by boosting the work of local business crime partnerships. These bring businesses, police and local authority representatives together to exchange information about offenders, set up radio links between stores and share crime prevention advice.
Sir Geoffrey’s police background and security expertise will now take AABC forward as key players in tackling business crime.
Sir Geoffrey said: “I am delighted to become Chairman of Action Against Business Crime – business crime is a serious issue with important consequences for society. The support and recognition from the Home Office was the first step and I now look forward to developing AABC and working in partnership with the Government in combating crime.”
David Felwick, BRC chairman said: “We are glad to have Sir Geoffrey on board. Real progress has been made in tackling business crime, but more can be
achieved. We welcome the Government’ commitment to this national association and look forward to building on the success of crime partnerships to benefit all parts of the country.”
Caroline Flint, Home Office Minister, said: “Sir Geoffrey will bring a wealth of experience and vision to the group, which forms a major part of the Home Office’s strategy to tackle business crime. I am confident that the AABC Group
can now press ahead with its work programme to set up a significant number of new partnerships and provide support and assistance to existing ones.
“We are very prepared to play our part in the fight against crime. But we cannot do it alone and businesses must play their part too. By working in partnership together we can make real progress in tackling the crime problems that face our businesses, and help our communities to be safer places to live and work.”
