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A pilot scheme in Armley run by Nigel Conder who is employed by Leeds Ahead as town centre manager for Armley and Pudsey, is one of the first in the North of England to install alert boxes in shops.

The scheme has been tried and tested in a number of areas in the South of the country where it has had a significant impact on reducing high street crime and anti social behaviour, whilst empowering businesses to take a positive step towards businesses cohesion in the local community through working together.

Although the Alertbox has not been in use for long in Armley, 30 shops now have the alert boxes. Questionnaires filled out by retailers and members of the public show fear of isolation is down 90%, fear of anti-social behaviour is down 80% and community perception of crime is down 55%. Results also showed that positive relationships with the council are up 65%, positive relationships with the police are up 60% and positive relationships with neighbours are up 70% since the alert boxes have been introduced.

If a business feels threatened they can press a button which sends a wireless signal to other retailers who also have the box. An alarm alerts local businesses and a digital screen displays the nature of the threat, the address of the business that raised the alert and their phone number. Other businesses close to the shop will send staff to check on the business. Retailers who are further away can ring to make sure all is well.

Running alongside the police's ‘business watch scheme', this initiative will go a long way to improving the shopping experience in Armley and giving businesses confidence that they can trade without feeling threatened. If the scheme is deemed a success an application for further funding to purchase more boxes and cover a larger area of Town Street and Branch road will be put forward. It is a scheme which is proving to be a big success and other retailers are already keen to be involved with both initiatives.