Theft from shops and businesses and assault on retail workers in Bedfordshire and beyond have become an epidemic that leaves staff afraid to go to work and customers afraid to shop.
Town centres and shopping parades are suffering from the effect of serious and continuous shoplifting and associated anti-social behaviour. This is not tolerable.
Recently, I have spoken with the police, local authority officers, councillors, trade unions, and local businesses to understand the impact of retail crime in our county and the financial impact these crimes have on retail businesses, and ultimately shop customers.
I feel that the key priority for the police and partners must be to tackle the causes of shoplifting and introduce measures in Bedfordshire’s towns and villages to prevent it.
Read: Police promise action as shoplifting offences reach all-time high in Bedfordshire
Referral to drug and alcohol rehabilitation treatment programmes, housing options and even the design of retail areas contribute to how we prevent behaviour such as shoplifting.
I am establishing an advisory group to help to develop a strategic response. This group will include representatives of shop owners, the Union of Shop, Distributive and Allied Workers (USDAW), local authorities and the police.
Tackling and preventing retail crime will also be a core element of the local policing strategy which I am developing and will publish by the spring of next year.
Shop owners especially larger companies must take action to protect their staff and introduce CCTV and other security measures. Businesses must always report retail crime, and we can explore how doing this could be easier.
Staff must never be put at risk which is why businesses should never expect staff physically to intervene.
Measures such as ShopWatch have a role to play too.
Too much retail crime is linked to serious and organised, and gang crime, and all too often criminals are stealing from shops to fund their drug habits. This means that retail crime cannot and must not be seen as less serious or separate from such criminality.
Bedfordshire Police is already implementing Operation Belleville, which utilises public intelligence and CCTV footage to identify suspects and crime hotspot but together with our partners and local businesses more much be done.
Criminal Behaviour Orders (CBOs) can be issued which are aimed at preventing reoffending.
As my Police and Crime Plan is implemented tackling retail and related crime will be one of the core missions. We owe local retail businesses and staff no less.
This is a monthly guest column provided by
elected Police and Crime Commissioner, John Tizard (Labour).
It is published unedited and does
not reflect the views of the Bedford Independent.
