Retail crime measures coming into place across Northamptonshire
It comes after Operation Elegance was ran last year
Northamptonshire Police is continuing its commitment to tackling and reducing retail crime.
Chief Inspector Carl Wilson, retail crime lead for Northamptonshire Police, said:
“Retail crime affects everyone – from the store workers facing abuse and assault, to the businesses losing money and the shoppers who end up facing higher prices. We are here to stress that our county is a hostile place for those who would seek to commit any form of retail crime – we will gather the evidence and put you before the courts.”
In May last year, the Force launched Operation Elegance, which sees police officers work with the Northamptonshire Business Crime Partnership (NBCP), which runs all the retail crime initiatives in the county, to better support victims of retail crime and bring more offenders to justice.
In its first six months Operation Elegance resulted in a 56 per cent year-on-year increase in the number of people charged, cautioned or given community resolutions for retail offences, and has also led to better relationships with the business community and retailers.
As a result of this continued success, the work of Operation Elegance is being further developed by the formation of a dedicated Retail Crime Team on Monday March 25th.
Chief Inspector Wilson said: “When the national Retail Crime Action Plan was announced last October, the work of Operation Elegance meant we were already ahead of the curve in preventing retail crime and charging offenders, as well as supporting businesses across Northamptonshire.
“The success of this work was highlighted by the recent HMICFRS report, and I am really pleased our innovation is now being carried forward into our new Retail Crime Team which will continue to deliver against national plans to make Northamptonshire a hostile place for retail crime offenders.
“Our work with retailers is key to ensuring they have confidence in reporting incidents to us, helping us put officers in the right places to prevent and detect offences, and enabling us to share advice and support those affected.
“Being so closely aligned with our NBCP colleagues also enables us to collaborate and innovate, from streamlining reporting processes to help keep staff on the shop floor, to gathering the best evidence we can to secure convictions and supporting those affected by retail crime so they can go to work feeling safe and confident.”
Alison Farr, Crime Manager at the NBCP, added: “We’ve worked in partnership with Northamptonshire Police for many years and our relationship has grown stronger than ever in the last few years, particularly since the launch of Operation Elegance and the Force’s commitment to fighting retail crime.
“With funding from the PFCC the NBCP employs two evidence gatherers who support retailers in completing evidence to support the prosecution of persistent and violent offenders, working very closely with Operation Elegance and the forthcoming force Retail Crime Team."