CONSTITUTION

 Contents

HASTINGS AREA BUSINESS  CRIME REDUCTION PARTNERSHIP

CONSTITUTION

1.1      The partnership will be known as Hastings Area Business Crime Reduction Partnership.  All references to ‘the partnership’ in this document refer to this partnership.

2.1      The partnership will be representative of the day and night time economy participants and other interested parties, formally constituted and managed.

2.2 A steering group made up of at least 12 members will be appointed from the membership.  This group will meet twice a year.

2.3 The steering group will include representatives from Sussex Police, Town Centre Management and Hastings Borough Council and other relevant bodies or individuals as required.

2.4 The steering group will oversee the aims and objectives of the partnership and be responsible for compliance with its purpose aims and objectives

The role of the steering group will be to:

·        Resolve misunderstandings and difficulties

·        Effect improvements

·        Assist generally with the smooth and efficient operation of the partnership

·        Decide the level and type of management information that is shared among participating members

·        Decide on the method in which management information is shared

·        Set funding policy

·        Deal with matters relating to security and general management queries

2.5       From within the membership a Board of Management (BoM) will be appointed to guide, manage and advise on the day-to-day operation of the partnership which will report back to the Steering Group as necessary.  This group will include the Chairman, vice Chairman and Secretary.  They will act as the first point of contact on issues relating to the scheme.  The Chairman, vice Chairman and Secretary shall be elected at the annual general meeting from nominations received from the membership.  Their period of office shall be 12 months.

2.6       The BoM will approve the representatives who are included on the Steering Group.

2.7      Each group will consist of at least 4 members.

2.8      Voting for resolutions or appointments within the partnership shall be by majority vote.  In the event of a tie, any resolution shall fail.

2.9      The BoM reports to and is accountable to the Steering Group.

2.10The BoM will be responsible for the financial, procedural, operational and disciplinary regulation of the partnership.  Any alterations recommended by the BoM will be subject to approval by a majority vote of the Steering Group.

2.11The Steering Group will agree the annual charges for membership.  The Steering Group will confirm this.

2.12Voting for resolutions or appointments within the partnership shall be by majority vote.  In the event of a tie, any resolution shall fail.

2.13Representatives of Sussex Police, Town Centre Management, Hastings Borough Council and other organisations involved in the partnership will be entitled to attend the Steering Group and BoM meetings.

2.14The Steering Group are empowered to ensure that all policies and procedures are fully complied with by the members.  A disciplinary sub-committee will be appointed from the day and evening BoM and key partners.

1.0              

3.1             The legitimate (in accordance with the 8 principles of the Data Protection Act 1998) and lawful gathering, collation, processing, exchange and management of all relevant information relating to business crime and anti social behaviour between retail/business members of the partnership. The police contribution will be the legitimate and lawful provision and management of relevant photographs or other information as agreed. 

3.2             To reduce and prevent criminality and anti-social behaviour by reducing the opportunity to commit crime.

3.3             To assist in the apprehension and prosecution of offenders and suspected offenders

3.4             To reduce fear of crime and the effects of fear of crime

 

3.5             To reduce members’ losses caused by crime and anti social behaviour

3.6             To create a “safe and secure” environment for customers, staff and visitors and to contribute to the economic viability and prosperity of the area.

3.7             To expand the partnership to encompass as wide a range of business sectors as possible.

3.8             To strengthen partnership working with the business community, police, local authority and other key agencies and organisations.

(These might include Licensing representatives (which links to Barwatch), Youth Offending Teams, Drugs and Alcohol Action Teams, Restorative Justice Unit, Rough Sleepers Unit, Probation Service etc)

3.9       To establish the partnership as an integral part of the local community   safety  and crime reduction strategy and work in partnership with the police, local authority, and other agencies and organisations responsible for delivering the community safety action plan.

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4.1       A member is defined as a business that has signed the agreements to abide by the operating protocols and data integrity agreements of the partnership to confirm that they have been made aware of their statutory obligations and responsibilities and has paid the relevant (initial/annual renewal) membership subscription to the scheme. 

4.2     Membership will be drawn from both daytime and night time economy businesses, which trade in the Borough of Hastings and representatives of other interested parties.

4.3             Members must agree to fulfil certain criteria to comply with the objectives of the partnership before membership is granted.  Applications for membership will be agreed by the steering committee. 

4.4             Members will pay an agreed fee to cover the running costs of the scheme.  This amount shall be agreed by the Steering Committee.

4.5            Payment will be in advance to the scheme account. 

 

4.6            Refunds will not be permitted (unless in exceptional circumstances agreed by the BoM).

 

4.7             Members who are in breach of any code of conduct or other rules governing activities of the partnership shall be liable to disciplinary action by the BoM.  This may take the form of warning, suspension or expulsion from the partnership.

4.8       All members who have access to personal data recorded by the partnership require to be made aware of the requirements of the 1998 Data Protection Act.  The responsibility and potential liability for inappropriate disclosure rests with the individual. 

4.9      The partnership Board of Management reserves the right to refuse membership    if it is deemed appropriate and reasonable to do so. If the applicant does not fit the criteria for membership, the Board of Management has the right to decide not to disclose reasons for their decision.

5.0              Meetings

5.1             An annual general meeting will be held at date to be agreed.  Other meetings held during the year as and when required.

5.2             The BoM will meet bi-monthly, reporting back to the steering committee.  Smaller subgroups of the Steering Committee may be formed to progress specific initiatives and will report back to the Steering Committee.

6.0            Voting

6.1       An annual general meeting will be held at a date to be agreed.  Other meetings held during the year as and when required.

6.2      A quorum for a meeting shall be not less than 10 members

6.3      Board Members each have one vote.  In the event of a tie, the chairperson will have the casting vote.

6.4       Board Members can nominate a substitute to attend meetings and vote on their behalf.

7.0              Administration

7.1             The officers of the Steering Committee shall be the chairperson, Vice  chair person and secretary.  The officers shall be elected at the AGM from nominations received from the membership.  Their period of office shall be 12 months.

7.2             The secretary should prepare the agenda for meetings after consultation.  The members may propose items for inclusion on the agenda, which should be notified to the secretary in advance of the meeting.  Minutes of the meetings will be taken and circulated.

7.3             The BoM will be responsible for all monies, accounts and property of the partnership.

8.0              Funding, Financial Records and Auditing of Accounts

8.1       The partnership should be self-financing and will be non-profit making.

8.2            Surpluses after payment of all costs will be carried forward and must only be used to achieve the objectives of the partnership.

 

8.3       The finances and financial records of the partnership will be audited and submitted to members at the AGM.

 

8.4      The BoM will provide a financial statement of accounts to coincide with the meetings of the steering committee or as otherwise requested.

9.0            Banking Procedure

9.1       Will be subject to 1066 Enterprise financial procedures and quality manual.

10.0              Process

10.1         The partnership office shall be established at Town Centre Management, Summerfields Business Centre, Bohemia Road, Hastings.  TN38 1UT

10.2         The partnership will employ (subject to identification of financial resourse) Intelligence Manager(s), for both day and night time economies, who will be based at  Town Centre Management.

10.3         Additional staff may be appointed to assist with the management of the partnership, subject to prior agreement of the BoM and approval by the steering committee. 

10.4         The partnership may be amended, extended or terminated by majority agreement of the members. 

10.5         If the partnership is terminated, any monies should be reimbursed to members after all outstanding items have been taken into account.

11.0              Benefits

11.1         Members will be entitled to use partnership radio frequencies after training, receive reports, photographs or other information concerning the activities of offenders whose activities affect their trading environment. The requirement being that the processed data must be relevant for the purpose (that is the prevention and detection of crime, disorder and anti social behaviour, to reduce the opportunity to commit crime, disorder and anti social behaviour and the apprehension and prosecution of offenders) and be lawful and legitimate.

11.2         Disclosure of partnership data must only be provided for under the Data Protection Act 1998 and only following assessment by the data controller. The decision to disclose will necessarily have to be on a case-by-case basis and should not be regarded as being available under an automatic authority. There is never an absolute entitlement to receive personal data, as each disclosure must have to be for the purpose (that is the prevention and detection of crime, disorder and anti social behaviour, to reduce the opportunity to commit crime, disorder and anti social behaviour and the apprehension and prosecution of offenders) and will be given only after consideration by the data controller in possession of the information.

11.3         Members must ensure that they put internal systems in place to enable them to identify target thieves and, where appropriate, to pass that information to the scheme.

11.4         The police will have proper access to data for the purposes of crime prevention or detection.  Other third party disclosure will be within the terms of the data notification and the act itself.

11.5         De-personalised, anonymous or other information, which is not subject to the Data Protection Act 1998, may be released, where appropriate, from time to time to assist other crime reduction initiatives/agencies.

12.0              Liabilities

12.1    The partnership may withdraw the services it provides by giving 3 months notice of its intention. 

12.2             Members may withdraw from the partnership subject to 3  months notice.

Hastings Area Business Crime Reduction Partnership

Day and Night economy

Safer Award Initiative

CODES OF PRACTICE

CODES OF PRACTICE

Contents

1.1       This code of practice is to control the management, operation, compliance and use of data within Hastings Area Business Crime Reduction Partnership.

1.2       This Hastings Area Business Crime Reduction Partnership document has been prepared following advice from the Information Commissioner, police and other contributors to the legal process.   It operates strictly within the provisions of the Data Protection Act, 1998.

1.3       The document will be subject to periodic review following consultation with all interested parties, to ensure it continues to reflect its stated purpose and remains in the public and participants’ interests.

2.0

2.1 Hastings Area Business Crime Reduction Partnership is a proactive crime reduction scheme between businesses, police, the local authority and other agencies and is directed at preventing and reducing criminal activity and anti social behaviour within the Borough of Hastings. 

2.2 The members, whose representatives (signatories) have each signed a confidentiality agreement to agree to abide by the operating protocols of the partnership, are involved in the collation, analysis and the dissemination of information within the membership.

3.1            Hastings Area Business Crime Reduction Partnership will be operated fairly and in compliance with current legislation only for the stated aims and objectives for which it was established. 

3.2     Each member of Hastings Area Business Crime Reduction Partnership is and remains bound by the code of practice and other operating protocols and any subsequent amendments to them.

3.3             Persons considered for employment by Hastings Area Business Crime Reduction Partnership must demonstrate an adequate knowledge of relevant legislation such as the Data Protection Act and the Police and Criminal Evidence Act.  

4.1 Hastings Area Business Crime Reduction Partnership has specific responsibilities, which must be understood by all partners and their representatives. 

4.2 Hastings Area Business Crime Reduction Partnership Steering Group is responsible for the approval of all members and the representatives of these members. 

4.3 All rules on confidentiality and data protection must be subject to written agreement and must be strictly adhered to by the data controller, employees of the partnership and all members.  Non-compliance of the Data Protection Act 1998 may lead to criminal prosecution and/or civil actions for damages. 

4.4 Lesser infringements of procedure will nonetheless be subject to sanction by the Hastings Area Business Crime Reduction Partnership Steering Group and Board of Managements (Day and Night Businesses).  This may be in the form of further training, verbal and written warnings or removal from Hastings Area Business Crime Reduction Partnership.  

4.5 Hastings Area Business Crime Reduction Partnership employees will receive training to ensure that a good standard of knowledge is maintained. 

4.6 Any persons employed or considered for employment by Hastings Area Business Crime Reduction Partnership will be required to disclose prior convictions, if any, (and, if appointed, notify future convictions) in order that a judgement may be made relating to likely impact upon the integrity of partnership information.  The Hastings Area Business Crime Reduction Partnership Steering group and Hastings Town Centre Management will assess whether the offence has a bearing on the nature of the appointment or continued employment. 

4.7 All persons employed or selected for employment may be required to satisfy the same conditions as would be imposed for employment by the police, and therefore a proper vetting process is required. This process must be fair and not excessive. 

4.8 Information processed by Hastings Area Business Crime Reduction Partnership which may prove relevant to pending or possible prosecution will be passed to the police in accordance with local reporting procedures or any conditions required by the Crown Prosecution Service. 

4.9 The partnership manager or his/her nominated representative will be required to give witness statements to an agreed format, showing their involvement in the acquisition of such evidence.  They may subsequently be required to attend court to give evidence in accordance with their involvement and the witness statement submitted. 

4.10         When information is passed to a police officer the level and nature of response to the information will be decided by that officer.  Where possible, the officer should have been advised of the terms of operation of the partnership and the agreed procedures relating to it. 

4.11    Police will only disclose information to the local partnership where there is a clear legal basis to do so. Information provided under partnership arrangements by police is for the prevention and detection of crime and prosecution of offenders and must not be used for any other purpose.  

4.12The partnership manager is responsible for the operation of the partnership 

and he/she must ensure that access to the Hastings Area Business Crime Reduction Partnership office and files/records is only permitted for authorised purposes and by authorised individuals. Police officers may attend in order to evaluate data and to add information or intelligence. 

In the event that the partnership is operated from police premises, access by members will be in accordance with the police vetting security policy.  

5.1       In order to maintain high standards, a training programme for managers, employees and agents of participating businesses should be maintained to ensure that members are aware of the partnership procedures and their personal roles and responsibilities.

5.1              A nominated signatory within each business will liaise with the Hastings Area Business Crime Reduction Partnership manager as and when new employees are introduced.

6.1            Numbers of staff employed by the partnership will be determined by the Board of Hastings Town Centre Management and the Hastings Area Business Crime Reduction Partnership Steering Group to meet operating requirements. 

6.2      Matters relating to an employee’s –

welfare, safety at work, performance/appraisal, general conditions of employment and working relationships will be the responsibility of 1066 Enterprise.

7.1            Participating businesses may be represented by third party organisations such as guarding, store detectives or other out-sourced security services.

7.2            Disclosure of data to such third party employees must only be as provided for under the Data Protection Act 1998 and only following assessment by the data controller. The decision to disclose will necessarily have to be on a case-by-case basis and should not be regarded as being available under an automatic authority.  

7.3 The Steering Group will retain the power of veto on third party organizations in appropriate circumstances.

            Third party staff, who are employed/contracted by members, must abide by the same constitution, codes of practice, operating guidelines and data protection agreements as members.

DATA INTEGRITY

AGREEMENT

Contents

Subject

Documentation used for data integrity, confidentiality agreements incorporated in the partnership protocols and documents pack.

HASTINGS AREA BUSINESS CRIME REDUCTION PARTNERSHIP

Data Integrity Agreement

Confidentiality Agreement incorporating

Partnership Protocols.

1.1       The act regulates the use and handling of information (personal data) processed by computers and information held on manual records. It provides a framework by establishing data protection principles. The purpose of the Data Protection Act 1998 is to make provision for the regulation of the processing of information relating to individuals including the obtaining, holding, use or disclosure of such information. All processing must be in compliance with the provisions of the act and in the event of non-compliance the Information Commissioner may take enforcement action.

1.2            Particular obligations are placed upon 1066 Enterprise (the Data Controller) and you as a member of the partnership to comply with the data protection principles.

2.1            Hastings Area Business Crime Reduction Partnership is an initiative operated by businesses in partnership with police and other agencies and organizations, through an agreement with each of the signed up members, who have agreed to the principles outlined in the protocols document, specifically, the Constitution, Code of Practice, Operating Procedures, Data Integrity Agreement and other agreed partnership procedures and protocols contained therein.

2.2            Authorized Persons 

For the purpose of this agreement the data controller, the data users (members of Hastings Area Business Crime Reduction Partnership), Hastings Town Centre Management, Hastings Borough and Sussex Police are the signatories to the agreement.

2.3       Data Controller

The Board of 1066 Enterprise is regarded as the data controller as the Board is responsible for all matters concerning the management of the partnership. The Hastings Area Business Crime Reduction Partnership Steering Group (consisting of both day and night businesses) will determine the purposes for which, and the manner in which, any personal data are, or are to be, processed. Two Boards of Operational Managements  (one for day and one for night) will report to the Steering Group.

2.4            Personal Data

Data consisting of information, which relates to a living individual, who can be identified from that information.

2.5       Data

“Data” means information which –

a)            is being processed by means of equipment operating  

automatically in response to instructions given for that purpose.

b)            is recorded with the intention that it should be

processed by means of such equipment.

c)            is recorded as part of a relevant filing system, or with

intention that it should form part of a relevant filing system, or

d)            does not fall within paragraph a), b) or c) but forms part of

an accessible record.

2.6       Data Subject

A living individual who is subject of personal data

2.7       In or Near

Within the Borough of Hastings.

2.8            Disclosure of Information

The Data controller will approve disclosure of personal data and information about data subjects to signatories of this agreement, where relevant and appropriate, for the purposes of:

·        The prevention and detection of crime or:

·        The apprehension or prosecution of offenders or suspected offenders

            Information should only be passed where it is relevant to do so.

2.9       The Data Co-ordinator will disclose personal data to signatories, where it is relevant to do so in connection with:

·        Person(s) who are identified as legitimate “targets” under the partnership protocols or:

·        Person(s) who are strongly believed to be in the operating area  and in respect of whom there is clear evidence of their propensity to commit crime in the area.

2.10Data processor means any person who processes the data on behalf  

of the data controller.

2.11Processing, in relation to information or data, means obtaining, recording or holding information or data or carrying out any operation  in relation to the information or data, including-

·    Organisation, adaptation or alteration of the information or data.

·    retrieval, consultation or use of the information or data.

·    disclosure of the information or data by transmission, or otherwise making available

·    alignment, combination, blocking, erasure or destruction of the information or data.

3.1             For the purpose of this agreement a target means and includes:

v     A person who has been convicted within the previous twelve months of any offence in or near the area of operation which may impact on the business environment. The conviction must be relevant and appropriate to the purpose (that is the prevention and detection of crime, anti-social behavior and alcohol related violence and disorder and the apprehension and prosecution of offenders).  This would not include parking offences and or other minor incidents, which are not relevant.   

v     A person who lives in or near the area of operation and who has been convicted within the previous twelve months of any crime which may impact on the business environment and whose activities or antecedents indicate that they are currently engaged in crime or are believed to be involved in crime.  The conviction must be relevant and appropriate to the purpose (that is the prevention and detection of crime, anti-social behavior and alcohol related violence or disorder and the apprehension and prosecution of offenders).  This would not include parking offences and or other minor incidents, which are not relevant.

v     A person whom  is strongly suspected of involvement in crime

v     A person who has been served with an exclusion notice preventing him/her from entering any member premises.

3.2            Personal data shall be periodically reviewed and shall not be retained for any longer than necessary. In particular target photographs and target information shall be reviewed every 2 months to ensure that the data reflects the data subject’s current circumstances.  Personal data shall not normally be retained for any longer than twelve months unless subject to review.

4.1       Data shall not be disclosed to any non-signatory, either directly or indirectly unless required to do so by law or by the order or ruling of a court, tribunal or regulatory body. If required to do so, the member should notify the partnership manager promptly, prior to making such disclosure. Hastings Area Business Crime reduction Partnership may share data with other partnerships who have Safer Awards.

4.2             Personal data shall be transmitted to authorised persons through

secure channels.

4.3            Appropriate security measures will be employed to prevent unauthorized access to, or alteration, disclosure, accidental loss or destruction of personal data.  Such consequences may be seen as a breach of the data protection principles and may lead to further action. (The absence of appropriate security measures may lead to a Data Subje