St Ives Town Council, in close partnership with St Ives BID, funded a scheme to pilot regular patrols of street marshals over the Summer holidays.
The marshals were employed by Infinitus Security and Training Ltd, a trusted partner, who also manage and monitor the town centre CCTV system. The aim of the pilot scheme was to address the pressures placed on the town in the Summer months with spikes in anti-social behaviour and petty crime.
Marshals were not a substitute for the police but worked very closely alongside them as their eyes and ears. The project mirrored the positive impact of similar teams in Penzance, Truro and Camborne. The marshals carried out regular, randomised patrols in both the daytimes and evenings around the area’s hotspots identified with the police and businesses.
The aims were to:
- Provide visible, reassuring patrols to residents, traders, and visitors
- Enhance the reputation of St Ives as a safe, family-friendly destination, assisting with wayfinding, information, and general public support
- Foster positive engagement between all sections of the community
- De-escalate situations that could lead to anti-social behaviour
- Assist in the reduction of incidents of anti-social behaviour and low-level crime
- Support local law enforcement and emergency services and proactively liaise with the St Ives Community Policing team and the St Ives Public Spaces Protection Order multi skilled enforcement team, reporting relevant incidents to both, as appropriate
- Build relationships with local businesses, encouraging the active reporting through the DISC app* and future use of radio systems
- Provide a link between businesses and public services and reporting any issues and helping these to be addressed quickly
Where appropriate, apply special powers under the Police Reform Act 2002 to support community safety and prevent anti-social behaviour.
Councillor Johnnie Wells, Mayor of St Ives said:
“The presence of high-vis has a very positive effect in the town. Lets hope it is start of something more permanent.”
Sarah Hooper, St Ives BID Manager said:
“Street Marshals have provided a reassuring presence over the summer, strengthening safety and community confidence. By working closely with local businesses and promoting correct reporting processes, they’ve helped drive a 46% increase in DISC engagement, with 1,116 logins and 88 instant messages exchanged in the past month alone. The data now feeds directly into police systems, delivering valuable intelligence and faster responses. This initiative showcases the power of partnership working in tackling crime, supporting businesses, and keeping our streets safer.”
Dee Evans, Police Inspector – Penzance and Isles of Scilly Sector said:
“The introduction of Street Marshals in St Ives this summer has helped reduce Antisocial behaviour, supported our officers during busy periods, and provided reassurance to both businesses, residents, and visitors. They’ve played a key role in keeping the town safe and welcoming throughout the peak holiday season.”
Kim Phillips, Infinitus Managing Director said:
“The Marshals team were well received in St Ives over the summer with strongly positive responses, engaging with the businesses, residents and visitors to the town to help provide a reassuring presence, promoting the town as a safe and welcoming place, and to help tackle anti-social behaviour and low-level crime. The team were able on many occasions to reach a positive result in deterring ASB and LLC and help to report incidents, discourage and disrupt unwelcome behaviours and limit exposure to those issues. Promoting the Disc network has been a key success, the team have been able to improve awareness, change perspectives, and show the benefits of timely communication and shared, local intelligence across the town. This has also helped to improve reporting to Police and clearly shows the benefits of partnership working.” The pilot scheme has now ended for 2025. Partners welcome public comments and feedback to help measure its success and inform whether they repeat the initiative.”
*The Disc App is a crime information-sharing system for UK businesses and communities to report and manage low-level crime, anti-social behaviour, and safety threats by sharing alerts, images of offenders, and other relevant data within a secure platform. If you would like to find out more about the Disc App contact the St Ives BID team on T. 01736 792121
E. info@stivesbid.co.uk
