Humberside Police Target Shoplifters On Busy Retail Day
As shops across our region brace themselves for one of their busiest days - extra police patrols will be out to catch any shoplifters.
As thousands of people do their last bit of Christmas shopping today - Humberside Police say they'll be on the look out for any shoplifters.
There tends to be a rise in shop crime at this time of year and throughout this month extra officers have been out across our region to help catch offenders.
Detective Superintendent Dave Houchin told Viking FM:
"Shop theft can increase quite significantly and it's because we've got a lot more people out there Christmas shopping. My appeal would be to those people who are a bit short of money and might be tempted, wanting to do the right thing for their family and get them nice presents, is to think that we've got additional patrols out there in uniform and plain clothes. Store detectives are very good at what they do so please don't be tempted to shop lift as you will be caught.
"We also tend to see an increase of first-time offenders at this time of year and it is an entry-type offence is shop theft. The reason for that is that people are short of money at Christmas and they want to do the right thing by their family and they get tempted. They don't realise the consequences as they think they won't get caught but the additional resources mean that the chances are actually increased.
"We've got additional officers across the hole Humberside force area, we've got them in the areas of the highest footfall, so the shopping centres. But we've also got them in the areas that might be a bit quieter but a bit more vulnerable to crime too."