Pawnbrokers in ground-breaking work with the Scottish Business Resilience Centre

20/05/2015

Pawnbrokers across Scotland – who are members of the National Pawnbrokers Association (NPA) – are working positively with the Scottish Business Resilience Centre in order to crack down on crime across all communities.

The Scottish Pawnbrokers Forum has been formed as the new national platform which examines and co-ordinates the flow of current criminal information between Pawnbroking businesses and the Scottish Business Resilience Centre (SBRC).

Senior representatives from the pawnbroking industry will meet with the SBRC to provide the opportunity to support and encourage partnership working between the sector and law enforcement across Scottish communities.

The new Chair of the Scottish Pawnbrokers Forum is Glasgow based Regional Manager of H&T Pawnbrokers, John Paterson who has welcomed the formation of the Forum:

“Pawnbrokers in Scotland already have good links with the police to stamp out crime. This Forum takes this work forward – so we can ensure greater co-ordination across Scotland thereby ensuring our industry continues to be a safe and secure place for people to access affordable short term loans”.

Commenting on the meeting held in Glasgow which led to the formation of the Scottish Pawnbrokers Association, National Pawnbrokers Association Chief Executive, Ray Perry said:

“Our meeting in Glasgow was an important milestone in further developing the close co-operation between Scotland’s NPA members and the police. All of us want to crack down on criminals who try to defraud our industry and who are a menace to our communities”.

Inspector Maurice Lindsay, Retail & Tourism Lead at the Scottish Business Resilience Centre stated:

“The SBRC view this new engagement forum as an excellent opportunity to work alongside the Pawnbroking sector to make Scottish communities a safer place to live and work. This group highlights the intention to combat the effects of organised crime groups by collaborative working and sharing of best practice. The membership has representation from over 95% of Scottish Pawnbroking companies. The Scottish Business Resilience Centre working closely with Police Scotland, aims to create a secure Scotland for business to flourish in. Equipping Pawnbroking businesses to identify stolen and counterfeit property is an integral part of targeting those involved in this criminal activity. The SBRC fully support this work and I look forward to forging a strong partnership with all members over the coming months and years.”

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Contact
For more information, case studies, or to arrange interviews with Ray Perry, please contact James Watkins on 020 7936 9496

Notes for Editors

The National Pawnbrokers Association (NPA) was founded in 1892 and is the trade association representing pawnbrokers, from the large chains through to independents, in a £930m loan market growing year on year. It is the authoritative voice of the pawnbroking industry in the UK.

The NPA stands for expertise, fairness and transparency, professionalism and excellence. All our members are bound by our rules and a customer code of conduct. Pawnbroking is part of the credit industry and is regulated alongside banks and other lenders by the Consumer Credit Act 1974.

The Scottish Business Resilience Centre (SBRC) is a unique organisation comprising contributions and secondments from Police Scotland, Scottish Government, Scottish Fire and Rescue Service, major banks, industries, investors and private membership. We aim to provide our members with a wide ranging one stop shop for business security services and advice and to date have established ourselves as a hub of innovation and business improvement in support of our partners and the business community.