Children Safe With New Marlowes Shopping Scheme

On Thursday 8^th July Marlowes Shopping Centre working in partnership with Riverside Shopping Centre, Dacorum Council and Dacorum Business Against Crime, will introduce a pioneering safety scheme which offers a hotline number to assist parents' and guardians' in finding children who have been separated from them whilst out shopping. By making one call to the dedicated Child Safe number parents' or guardians' will activate a process which will communicate with and mobilise security officers throughout the town as well as the CCTV operators to coordinate a search to reunite parents' or guardians' and children.

Child Safe has been successfully introduced in over 120 shopping centres across the UK & Ireland since it was launched in 2003, This initiative provides children with free wristbands for parents' or guardians' contact numbers so that, in the event of a child being lost, the parent or guardian can be contacted quickly.

From Thursday 8^th July parents' or guardians' visiting Hemel Hempstead will be able to pick up wristbands free of charge from the Customer Service Desk at Marlowes Shopping Centre, Centre Management Office at Riverside and other key locations throughout the town. Once they receive a wristband they will be able to write their phone number on it and attach it to their child's wrist ensuring that parents' or guardians' are easily contactable if their child goes missing.

There will also be a special contact number displayed on posters around the town so that parents' or guardians' can call for help as soon as they realise their child is missing.

Vince Williams Centre Director at Marlowes Shopping Centre said: "We are really delighted to be able to introduce this joint initiative to the town. I'm sure it will make a massive difference to parents' and guardians' and we are confident it will be a great success, as it has been in other areas up and down the country."

Joanna Hall, Centre Manager at Riverside Shopping Centre commented: "It is every parent's worst nightmare to lose their child whilst out shopping.  I'm sure shoppers visiting Riverside and Hemel Hempstead will welcome the free of charge scheme which will help to keep their children free from harm."

ENDS

For more information contact:

Eileen Gannon / Marketing Manager

marketing@themarlowes.co.uk

01442 413 818

Or

Sally Bason PMW Communications Ltd

T: 01403 783400     M: 07920 574716     E: sally.bason@pmwcom.co.uk