BID Camborne is going ahead with the purchase of a licensed, app-based tool that will enable local businesses to quickly report crime and anti-social behaviour.

BID:BIS, the BID Camborne Business Intelligence Scheme, is the name being given to the new Disc system.

More than 500 towns and city centres throughout the UK use Disc to reduce criminal behaviour through effective communication about local troublemakers and incidents of note.

Users are kept up to date with an instant messaging system that is data protection compliant, and reports can be escalated directly to the police.

BID directors agreed to invest in Disc earlier this year and had hoped for financial contributions and collaborative support to buy it.

That hasn’t proved possible, so the BID team have been working hard to find ways of wholly funding a pilot year for BID:BIS themselves.

“We feel that it’s vital to prioritise keeping our town centre safe from crime and anti-social behaviour,” said Samantha Hussey, Chair of BID Camborne.

“Our budget is limited but it’s clear that criminal behaviour is affecting our levy payers and their customers, and we need to do everything we can to resolve that issue.

“Disc empowers communities to share information about incidents and offenders and is the most widely used system in the UK. We’ve been very impressed by its effectiveness in other areas and believe it’s worth the expense of a trial year.

“Safeguarding businesses and public areas in Camborne is paramount, and we’re delighted to be going ahead with this BID:BIS initiative. We can’t afford not to.”