Gloucestershire Police crackdown on Christmas shoplifters
Operation Blitzen is targeting thieves in Gloucester over the festive period
Gloucestershire Police are cracking down on shoplifters in the coming weeks as part of Operation Blitzen.
Officers in uniform and plain clothes are patrolling the streets of Gloucester and have already arrested a number of offenders.
High visibility patrols will be in the city centre in the run up to Christmas and into the New Year in areas like Kings Walk, Eastgate Shopping Centre and Gloucester Quays.
They are working with City Safe, who represent businesses across the city, to support them and also deter other anti-social behaviour.
Speaking to Greatest Hits Radio, Sergeant Andrew Doyle said:
"We want to reassure businesses that we are visible and tackling these issues.
"We use a mixture of disposals, it's not always arresting them and marching them to custody and taking them through the court process.
"We work with City Safe who has a yellow and red card banning system. A yellow and red card system is in place where they may get banned from one place, but if it continues then they're banned from all establishments and public transport.
"We can also put a Criminal Behaviour Order on the individuals, and as well as the more punitive measures, we also try to offer them support.
"If they do need support with housing or drug addiction then there's also that supportive element."
Inspector Emma MacDonald said:
“While this year’s Christmas will clearly be very different, we are still expecting Gloucester to be busy with shoppers over the next two weeks.
“Shoplifting is extremely costly for retailers, who have already had a tough year. We will be working around the town to help protect people and deal with opportunistic shoplifting and anti-social behaviour.
“Christmas can be a stressful time and we want to help people enjoy their preparations as much as possible.
"Anyone who has concerns about anything they see whilst Christmas shopping can speak to a member of the team who is on patrol or at one of our engagement vehicles as we will be more than happy to help."
Crime prevention advice for when you're out and about can be found here: https://www.gloucestershire.police.uk/cp/crime-prevention/shoplifting/spot-a-shoplifter/