Shoplifting in Kent at a seven-year high
That's according to data from police
Data from Kent Police shows shoplifting in the last year is at its highest level for seven years.
Figures for 2023 - 2024 show a rise of nearly 20 per cent on the previous 12 months, with with 2,433 more reported offences.
Kent’s Police and Crime Commissioner, Matthew Scott, recently held his inaugural Retail Crime Board, which he hopes will reduce shoplifting and threatening and abusive behaviour towards staff.
He invited representatives of the business community, including leading retail brands, members of the customer service industry, town centre managers and senior police staff and officers to share their views and experiences.
One larger retail company said it regularly had three or four cases of abusive or threatening behaviour towards staff reported a week. All agreed shoplifting is becoming more blatant and staff retention is more difficult as a result. Another area of concern is the selling-on of stolen goods.
Mr Scott said: “I have launched this Retail Crime Board because I am very concerned about the levels of business crime across the county. It is a national problem, but one I think we can improve locally. The Retail Crime Board is not going to be a talking shop, this is about building trust between businesses and the police, supporting those victims of crime as well as sharing good practise and developing effective partnerships.
"We’ve already discussed how we can improve our data gathering and sharing and ways to build relationships with local beat officers. I would encourage all retailers to sign up to their local ‘My Community Voice’ scheme. This puts staff in direct contact with their local police team, making those connections easier.”