Police increase charges against shoplifters in bid to target retail crime
Police have delivered a 98 per cent increase in charges for shoplifting offences across Berkshire and the Thames Valley.
A total of 1,691 charges were issued for shoplifting offences from April 1 to October 13, compared with 852 in the same period in 2023, according to statistics released by Thames Valley Police.
The rise is owed to new efforts to identify prolific offenders, increased police presence in retail spaces and new ways for retailers to report and access information about shoplifting and anti-social behaviour.
But while these figures mark an improvement, work is still needed to rebuild public trust in policing in the retail sector.
Chief inspector Stewart Codling, of Community Policing Command, explained more.
He said: “These statistics highlight the progress we are making in dealing with this issue, but our work doesn’t stop here.
“We will be focused on working with our partners and communities to create a hostile environment for those who commit retail crime.
“Our local neighbourhood policing teams will continue to dedicate focus under Operation Purchase on targeting offenders as effectively as possible and we will do all we can bring them to justice.”
Police and crime commissioner Matthew Barber added: “At the start of the year, I pledged to turn the tide on retail crime in the Thames Valley with the publication of my Retail Crime Strategy.”
The strategy set out a series of actions to tackle shoplifting, retail crime and violence towards shop workers, including the creation of a Business Crime Team to identify prolific offenders.
“However, as with all crime, enforcement forms only one part of the response,” Mr Barber continued.
“A core part of my RCS was to make reporting shoplifting offences easier and more efficient for retailers.
“To facilitate this, I funded the rollout of Disc, an information-sharing and reporting platform which allows retailers to report and access information about crime such as shoplifting and anti-social behaviour.”
Mr Barber confirmed the app is now available, free of charge, and that more than 500 businesses across the Thames Valley have already signed up.
“This is an excellent start,” he added, “but the more retailers that use the platform and feed in vital intelligence, the better the policing response will be.
“I know the sector has historically had a lack of confidence in the police response to retail crime, but I hope these latest figures demonstrate that, in the Thames Valley at least, we are working hard to improve the police response to these offences.”
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The statistics were shared at the start of Safer Business Action Week (October 14-20), which brings together retailers, business groups and the police to discuss crime prevention activity in retail spaces.