“Decades Of Being Ruled By Morons” | Businessman Funds Private Security For ‘Dump’ Bedford

Businessman Peter McCormack has told Peter Cardwell about his plans to fund private security guards in Bedford town centre every Saturday in August, after “three decades of being ruled by morons” in government, have left the area as “a dump”, where Bedfordshire Police has failed to tackle anti social behaviour and local crime.

He plans to hire 10 security guards for five Saturdays in August, costing £10,000. McCormack criticizes the Police and Crime Commissioner John Tizard for calling his initiative a political stunt, arguing it’s a necessity.

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Well, it was Ryan, our producer, who spotted this story about the businessman to pilot private security for Bedford Town Center. It’s been called a political stunt. Uh, what do you think about what Peter McCormack is doing? He’s announced he’ll personally fund private security patrols in Bedford Town Center every Saturday in August. Well, I’m going to talk exclusive. Peter joins us now. Uh, Peter McCormack, you’re very welcome to talk. Thanks for joining us this evening. Hi, thank you for having me. Why have you decided to do this? Yeah. Um, so I own a couple of businesses in the town center and uh I’ve become witness to the evidential uh decline of the town center. Uh we have like a lot of towns up and down the country, we have a problem with addiction in the town. Uh people buying, selling, taking drugs. We have an problem with alcoholism in the town. Um we also have a problem of shoplifting which is downstream from those addiction issues. Uh and we’ve also uh got an issue whereby we have this growth in HMOs in the town which are being used to house uh people in temporary accommodation. Uh and when you combine these with an already difficult economic situation, less people are coming into the town. Uh women uh feel unsafe coming into town with their children. Uh other people just think it’s become a bit of a dump. Um and I’m from Bedford. I’ve lived here my whole life. So I I’d like to see it turn around. And I’ve always felt the first thing you need to do is uh deal with the security. Unfortunately, the police are very stretched. They they do the best they can, but they’re very stretched either because budgets have been cut and there’s not enough police officers. Well, actually, the police and crime commissioner, John Tizard, says your scheme is a political stunt. He said at a time when antisocial behavior it is is at a long-term low in Bedford Town Center and the collaborative Bedfordshire Police and Burough Council safer street safer town center campaign is underway. This looks like a political stunt. Keeping our town center safe is a responsibility of publicly accountable police and local authorities, not private individuals. Let’s support the police and council and in so doing support our local residents and businesses. What would you say to John Tizard? I think he’s probably embarrassed. Um he’s embarrassed that I’ve had to do this. Uh calling it a political stunt is a bit strange because I’m not a politician. Um and calling it a stunt is an insult. Um it’s a necessity. I’m in the town center operating uh two businesses there. I speak to residents. I speak to other uh shop owners and and understand the problems they’re dealing with. And if you spend time in the town center or around Bedford getting to know people, you will find out very quickly that people don’t want to come into the town if they go to the multi-story car park. There are people using the drugs uh or aggressively begging in the stairwells. And that’s not a place a mother’s going to come with two young children. And so um so there there are five there are five Saturdays in August then and each each of those five Saturdays you’re going to provide private security. How many people will be sort of on the beat essentially? What powers do they actually have and how much is it all going to cost? John Pete. Um Pete, sorry. Peter, apologies. It’s fine. So, it’ll be 10 security guards from a company I know who provides security for my club because I own a club in the town. Um and uh they only have the powers as citizens, which is if somebody sees an indictable offense being committed, you do have the power as a citizen to to arrest them. You do have the the power to stop them. But really, I think it’s more to provide uh reassurance for people in the town. We we’ve had a growth in assaults on women in Bedford and that is a problem uh dozens over the last month. And I want people to realize, look, if they come to the car park, as we will provide security at every entrance, they won’t be hassled or harassed by people on drugs in the stairwells as they’re trying to get into the town. and they will uh be available to go up and down the street to just keep an eye on businesses and hopefully provide some kind of reassurance. Um we’re certainly not going to get in the situation where the security guards are are doing the job of the police. That’s the job of the police. But I expect to engage with the police and them help to support this. But this is the job of private security guards and they will only do what’s within the powers that they have as a private security guard or as a citizen. And how much money are you going to spend on it, Peter? So, this has cost about £10,000 for the month. Um, if it’s a success, I’m happy to uh increase the spend and and carry it on for the the whole year. But it’s it’s also a bit of a a chess move in that I want the town to improve. I I would like people to come back to the town, spend money in the shops. Um, I would like the types of shops to improve. So hopefully this sparks a civic response which would see other locals who want to help support the town and and help reshape it because I mean you don’t have you don’t have to look very far um in the country at the moment to realize like up and down the country town centers are dying and have got a range of antisocial issues. Well do you think others are going to uh follow your example? We do know that there are many collective funds different housing uh developments and things like that where people put money into a fund where there’s private security there and so on. I haven’t heard about it in regard to a town and a local business person doing this, but do you think others will draw inspiration from what you’re doing, Peter? Oh, I mean, it is already happening. It is happening in other towns in the country. That’s where I got inspired by when I was kind of researching it and looking into what is this a problem elsewhere. I I’m sorry, but it’s um I’ I’ve forgotten the town, but there was one specific town where somebody was stabbed outside a charity shop and the town decided to implement a private security program. Unfortunately, if if if the police are unfunded or not funded to the level to be able to provide this, I think you’re going to see an increase in this private security. Um, what do you think it I think you’re right, Peter. What do you think it says about where we are as a society that is taking people who have means like you successful businessman who’s actually saying well for the good of the town that you live in and have lived in your entire life that you actually need to put your own money profits into to actually secure it when it is a reasonable assumption for any citizen to say that the police will keep the streets safe. I I think it just proves that we’ve had two to three decades of being ruled by morons uh in government. successive governments have failed to make the right decisions both on fiscal and monetary policy uh and and led us to the point where we are as a nation broke and constantly looking where we can cut funding whether that’s schooling whether that’s policing and we are being squeezed as a country off the back of what is essentially socialism and I think but I think it also proves another point that the free market itself works all I’m doing is a free market response to a security issue in the town and that I’m providing it and hoping that that will increase the footfall into the town and and start an economic rebirth of Bedford. And what about the council and locals? What sort of reaction have you had to this announcement? Yeah, quite mixed actually. Some people very positive have got in touch and said this is amazing. Thank you. How can I support? And other people referring it to a vigilante force which I I don’t consider it is a vigilante. I I I want it to be seen as a positive step in that if you go to a supermarket these days, you’ll often see security. If you go to a concert, you’ll see security. When you go to bed at night, you lock your door. Security is just a part of life. And we just don’t have enough of it in our town center. So, I would like to see more of a positive, but unfortunately, and it is a political point in that many on the left do not like this idea. The people I’ve seen commenting where it’s been posted on Facebook are very clear. God, God forbid the private sector to provide any form of solution to anything. Yeah. I mean, it’s just it’s just the sad state of things there are. But look, I’m a businessman. I’m a citizen of Bedford. I was born here. I love the town. I want it to be successful. There is a gap in the market that isn’t being provided and I enter in that free market to provide it. Hopefully, I won’t have to do it for long. Hopefully, the police come back and sort it out. But unfortunately, our PCC John Tizard is a particularly weak character who has not provided this. So, if he won’t, then I will. Peter, what I’d love to do is talk to you after the first Saturday night. Would you come on again a few weeks after the first Saturday night and let me know how it’s gone? Uh that would the first Saturday night I think is the 2nd of August. We’ll maybe get you back on the fourth or fifth of August. It would be lovely to chat to you again. I wish you all the best with it. That is uh Peter McCormack there, a businessman in Bedford and we will ask Bedford Council for a statement on that. I should say that the local police and crime commissioner says that it’s a political stunt. that says at a time when antisocial behavior is a long-term low in Bedford town center and the collaborative Bedfordshire police and Burough Council safer street safer town center campaign is underway this looks like a political stunt says uh the police and crime commissioner John Tizard well why would Peter McCormack be doing it if he didn’t feel he needed to would be my question and you know as as Peter says he’s not a he’s not a politician