My Local Bobby’s Adam Barnard on how he hopes to tackle crime in Ipswich alongside its new Street Security team

Ipswich’s Street Rangers have had a makeover, with a former police officer being brought in to ‘tighten the screws’ and tackle shoplifting and anti-social behaviour.

Ipswich Central, the town’s business improvement district (BID), has employed the services of private security firm My Local Bobby (MLB) in its mission to deter crime.

Now known as Street Security, its three officers will patrol the town centre in a robust approach to security.

The newest member of the team is Adam Barnard, who worked for the Metropolitan Police between 2004 and 2011.

He said the team would make the streets safer with a ‘no nonsense’ approach.

Adam said: “My hope is to help upskill the two guys we have here, get them up to speed with how MLB does things and help toughen up the streets.

“Right now, security is a bit soft. Shoplifters will get banned from stores but there’s no follow-up, no end product when it comes to dealing with persistent offenders.

“Now, if a shoplifter is banned from a store and goes back to rob somewhere, they’re looking at a burglary charge and, potentially, a longer sentence.

“But it’s important to remember that times are hard and not all crime is done by horrible people, a lot of the time it is through desperation and we have to understand that and help where we can.”

Street Security keep a look out for offenders and make citizen’s arrests when required. Adam hoped the team would soon be issued with handcuffs, to be used as a last resort if someone posed a risk of harming themselves or others.

While MLB can take on more relaxed roles, Adam said Ipswich Central had hired the firm to stop crime.

Businesses in the BID have a direct radio link to the security team, which uses CCTV and links with the police in its work.

MLB officers also carry body cams. Should police choose not to take a case to court but MLB do, Adam said the organisation had a 100 per cent conviction rate.

MLB launched in London in 2016, founded by former Met Police officers.

Ipswich is not London – with separate issues – and the team will take a different approach to tackling crime on its streets.

Adam, who joined the organisation in 2018, said: “Ipswich has its problems, but when compared to other similar-sized urban areas, it isn’t too bad. The fear of crime is worse than crime itself.

“The key issues are shoplifting and anti-social behaviour fuelled by drinking. There aren’t too many issues with kids committing crime right now, but that might get worse during the summer.

“When it comes to crime, prevention is better than cure. We’re a deterrent and our presence may stop crimes without realising it – and businesses have told us us that being in the area stopped an offender from committing a crime.”