Harrods and Lillywhites have joined a crime prevention partnership spearheaded by the Oxford Street Association (OSA).
The retailers' involvement is the first step in extending the venture beyond Oxford Street to other central London locations. Bond Street department store Fenwick is also believed to be considering joining.
According to the OSA, plans to amalgamate existing intelligence gathering systems on Oxford Street with other areas are well under way. Eventually the association hopes Regent Street, Knightsbridge, Kensington High Street, Sloane Street and Tottenham Court Road will all be linked up.
The project involves feeding details of local criminals into Oxford Street's Business Information Crime System database, which is shared with retailers.
Harrods director of corporate communications Peter Willasey said: 'We thought it was appropriate to join forces, even though we're not based on Oxford Street, because of the two-way passage of intelligence. We can share information about trends or groups of criminals. It's good to know if there's a new operation in town that we should be aware of.'
Oxford Street security manager John Whatling emphasised the importance of sharing information.
'If individual shopping streets take crime reduction measures in isolation, the danger is that criminals simply move into adjacent areas where they are not known to security staff and CCTV operators,' he told Street Scene, the OSA newsletter.
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