DAS: outsourcing Disc administration to the experts

Until now, Disc customers have had to implement and manage their own Disc systems themselves.  Now, with our new Disc Administration Service (DAS), they can outsource the work to Littoralis.  For organisations looking to set up a business crime reduction scheme for the first time, the benefits are obvious and compelling.

Business crime reduction schemes using Disc are proven to reduce local low-level crime and anti-social behaviour. So it’s not surprising that Business Improvement Districts, Chambers of Commerce and police are keen to support such schemes in their own areas.

But for many of them, setting a scheme up properly, running it in compliance with seemingly complex legal obligations, and ensuring it is effectively administrated, can be daunting.

DAS enables such organisations to outsource the management of their Disc systems to us here at Littoralis. We have in-depth specialist understanding of how schemes must be structured to ensure they are run legally, and of course no one knows better than us how to use Disc to run successful schemes and maximise engagement with users.

The initial DAS ‘onboarding’ process includes a complete review of customers’ requirements to make sure their system is set up properly to comply with legal obligations and Best Practice, including all necessary documentation.

Onboarding also covers configuring the Disc system to reflect precisely the way the customer wants its scheme to operate. That includes, for example, configuring the Disc Desktop login page, Welcome emails, Mugshot Galleries, expiry periods, Membership-certification and re-certification and, where required, direct-to-police Crime Reporting.

While DAS covers the administration of a customer’s Disc system, the customer itself remains the Data Controller.  So onboarding includes training so the customer, as Data Controller, has a firm understanding of all the relevant aspects of data protection law.

Once onboarding is complete, DAS looks after the on-going management of the Disc system including processing of incident reports, administration of any exclusion scheme, adding relevant current-awareness including news, Alerts, documents and up-coming events, submitting real-time instant messages, handling enquiries or requests for help from users, and much else.

Some tasks remain the responsibility of the customer.  These include managing the membership of their scheme – adding and deleting individual members as appropriate – and adding their own local current-awareness content such as local news and events. DAS doesn’t put ‘boots on the ground’ but it does include direct and frequent liaison with customers’ street-wardens or other relevant local staff.

Customers also remain responsible for primary contact with local partners such as police and council, for local marketing and initial handling of complaints.

The cost of DAS for the first three months is just £200 per month, so customers can discontinue the service if it isn’t right for them. Thereafter the monthly charge is £400.  These charges are in addition to the Disc license.

If you’d like to know more about our Disc Administration Service and receive a copy of the DAS Service Provisions document, contact us on enquiries@littoralis.com.