WINNERS!
We’re over the moon to have been named the Gold Winner of the Safety & Security Drive category at the National BID Awards.
The award is in recognition of our pioneering Northampton Town Anti-Social Behaviour Reporting Scheme (NTARS).
So – what is NTARS? Strap yourselves in (it’s a long read…) and we’ll explain.
In recent years, Northampton BID has made safety our top strategic priority by launching NTARS, a bespoke, business-led, technology-enabled programme delivered in partnership with pfbb UK, West Northamptonshire Council, Northamptonshire Police, the Northamptonshire Business Crime Partnership (NBCP), and the Office of the Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner.
NTARS centres around the use of Disc, the UK’s leading crime-reduction software platform. When Northampton adopted Disc, we were the first town in the country to implement it in this way, giving every levy-paying business, regardless of sector, access to the system.
This is a key part of our innovation story.
In most places, GDPR restrictions limit participation to retailers only. Northampton successfully made the case, supported by the existence of Public Spaces Protection Orders (PSPOs), that all businesses have legitimate interest in both reporting and receiving ASB intelligence. That decision transformed the fabric of partnership working in the town.
The scheme gives businesses the ability to report ASB in real time, from begging, street drinking and harassment to environmental crime, criminal damage, graffiti, fly tipping and rough sleeping.
Reports feed directly into West Northamptonshire Council’s ASB Case Team and the NBCP hub at Campbell Square Police Station. Every relevant staff member can access the app, receive push notifications, access offender galleries, and connect with BID hosts and other businesses through NTARS’ Data Processing Agreement-compliant instant messaging system.
Training is delivered by the BID team, with ongoing support from BID hosts who patrol the town equipped with radios and body-worn cameras, collating evidence for authorities and supporting businesses on the ground. The combination of reporting tools, human presence and consistent communication creates a powerful loop of intelligence, intervention, and accountability.
Over time, NTARS has evolved beyond its original remit. It is no longer simply a reporting mechanism; it is a catalyst for cultural change.
The relationships between businesses and police are now stronger than at any point in recent memory.
NTARS intelligence has played a pivotal role in reshaping police deployment in the town. When the BID launched the scheme, Northampton town centre had just two dedicated officers. By presenting accurate NTARS data, the BID and its partners successfully lobbied for reinvestment. Today, the town centre is resourced by an Inspector, two Sergeants, 14 Police Officers, and six PCSOs, a transformation directly enabled by BID-led reporting.
NTARS was also instrumental in the development of Operation Workforce, a substantial eight-week police operation launched in August 2024 to tackle ASB, retail crime, drug activity and serious violence. NTARS data, partner meetings and business testimonies provided the blueprint for the operation. Its success, 60 arrests, increased patrol visibility, strengthened business liaison, and long-term new policing practices, has since led to a more permanent shift in police activity in the town centre.
The scheme has also enabled earlier interventions around rough sleeping, and new safety innovations such as CCTV Pods, piloted at Vintage Guru before attracting police commissioner investment to fund wider deployment from summer 2025.
On a wider scale, NTARS is now recognised as the county benchmark for business-led security and is already being scaled in Kettering, Wellingborough and Kingsthorpe. Northampton has become the template.
The BID’s objectives throughout have been clear:
* Give businesses a voice and a reliable mechanism to surface what is really happening on the streets.
* Strengthen the partnership ecosystem, bringing police, councils, NBCP, the OFPCC and businesses around a shared operating picture.
* Help businesses protect their staff, improve duty of care, and reinforce confidence in the town centre environment.
* Accelerate interventions to reduce ASB quickly and visibly.
* Improve perceptions of safety for workers, students, families, shoppers and visitors.
* Create long-term, systemic change through evidence-based lobbying and operational improvements.
NTARS is now deeply embedded within the fabric of Northampton town centre. It informs Town Centre Task Group discussions, shapes police activity, and produces weekly intelligence summaries that businesses rely on. It has played a major role in Northampton retaining its prestigious Purple Flag accreditation for a seventh straight year, one of only ten areas nationally to achieve full renewal.
Most importantly, NTARS is delivering measurable impact. ASB levels, once consistently in the 60-incident range per month, have dropped significantly. Students report feeling safer. Businesses feel heard. Police are more present. The partnership ecosystem is stronger.
The scheme is affordable, scalable, partner-supported and business-led. It demonstrates what a BID can achieve when it uses intelligence, technology and collaboration to drive real-world change.
