Landmark Information Sharing Agreement launched

The National Business Crime Solution (NBCS) and the National Business Crime Centre (NBCC) are delighted to announce the roll out of a landmark Information Sharing Agreement (ISA), enabling police forces across the country to share relevant data with the wider business community to combat crime and protect the public.

The National Police Information Sharing Agreement (ISA) is the first of its kind in the UK and will enable the NBCS to request and exchange information and intelligence with all 43 Police forces and its members

This significant milestone in the fight against business crime will make it possible to streamline data sharing for the entire industry, not only retailers and business but also to streamline data sharing for over 300 Business Crime Reduction Partnerships (BCRPs) and Business Improvement Districts (BIDs) as long as they are accredited to the national BCRP standards

The ISA also enables the NBCS to share critical and timely intelligence with its members both via its iNTEL ONE data repositry and its current awareness systems. Information such as name, gender, physical description and crucially images will be accessible by businesses and retailers, where proportionate and justified to do so. The NBCS will also be able to request address details of offenders for the purpose of exclusion.

Peter Fisher, General Manager of the National Business Crime Solution (NBCS) said: “The ISA is absolutely critical to ensure businesses can work together in collaboration and streamline process across the industry. Now, with the help of our police partners all business have the opportunity to access relevant data and intelligence from the police using the same process regardless of the force.

“In terms of our BID and BCRP partners, no longer will they be required to apply individually to their force, the collective NBCS / Police ISA will mean all stakeholders have access to the intelligence they need, this will further simplify accreditation against the national partnership standards and support the continued growth of business confidence in these more local organisations.”

Superintendent Patrick Holdaway, from City of London Police and lead for the National Business Crime Centre added: “This has been a complex piece of work which we started developing with the NBCS in 2020, the significance of which cannot be underestimated.

“It is a clear demonstration of the willingness by UK Police to stand shoulder to shoulder with the business community and its stakeholders. It will empower forces across the country to share relevant data with the wider business community, supporting increased trust in policing, better collaboration, protection of the public and fundamentally better outcomes for victims.”

This fresh approach from UK policing towards business crimes and its victims is expected to enhance the opportunities to prevent crime and lead to more accurate identification of offenders. That in turn will lead to better policing outcomes supporting the drive to target the 20% of offenders committing 80% of the crime. The introduction of this new ISA was approved by the National Police Chief’s Council (NPCC).