Northamptonshire Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner Danielle Stone has hosted a roundtable event to discuss retail crime in the county and the actions being taken to tackle it. This is the third county roundtable – the first organised and chaired by Northamptonshire Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner Danielle Stone.
Representatives from independent and major chain retailers joined Northamptonshire Police Retail Crime Team, Northampton Business Improvement District and other business groups and the Northamptonshire Business Crime Partnership. Attendees shared concerns and experiences of retail crime in Northamptonshire and discussed the progress that has been made in tackling the issue.
The round table heard updates from the Northamptonshire Police Retail Crime Team, which was formally launched in March 2024 following a successful pilot. They work in partnership with the Northamptonshire Business Crime Partnership (BCP) and dedicate resources to support retailers in the community. The team has been key to increasing the number of shoplifters brought to justice, by building a closer working relationship between retailers and other key partners.
This initiative has allowed Northamptonshire Police to engage better with local retailers and has led to an 80% increase in crimes reported in the last 3 months alone.
Chief Inspector Wilson, who oversaw the launch of the team said: “Our approach to retail crime has been a whole county effort working with retailers, neighbourhood teams and the Business Crime Partnership. Stepping up patrols along with increased reporting from retailers has significantly deterred criminals and our charge rate is now one of the highest in the county. We still have more to do, but what we are doing is working.”
“It’s really important that firms and stores of all sizes report every incident, so we have the clearest possible data on offending in order to really tailor our response, and also that they know we are here to offer help and support.”
The Business Crime Partnership, including two specialist Retail Crime Evidence Gatherers funded by Northamptonshire Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner Danielle Stone, give advice and support to retailers, as well as offering an app called Disc to members that are affected by retail crime.
The app includes a database of images and details of prolific offenders, including updates on prosecutions and prison release dates. It allows members to report incidents of retail crime swiftly and efficiently, uploading CCTV and statements to one place, leaving no need to call 101.
The app also allows retailers to message each other and share incidents and warnings in real time.
Rachel Trafford from Park & Shop Service Station in Rushden spoke about the huge reduction of shoplifting on her premises since joining the app: “We have noticed a huge difference in the past few months, crime in our store has decreased massively. We used Disc to report every incident of shoplifting, no matter how small. We have now not had to report an incident for 6 weeks, which we believe is because every one of our reports were prosecuted, so criminals don’t even try our shop anymore because they know it’s not worth it.”
The roundtable also discussed police response times and crime prevention, and the Business Crime Partnership will be visiting retailers to discuss the expert support available to them.
Danielle gave an update on the retail crime measures that are being rolled out by her crime prevention team, including the creation of a retail crime prevention pack that will be given to retailers that contains simple crime prevention advice.
Two pilot schemes were also announced – a high-visibility, floor-based CCTV system that can be remotely activated by retailers and a mobile, A-frame robot that moves around locations displaying crime prevention messages as a deterrent to offenders.
Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner Danielle Stone said that retail crime is one of her top priorities.
“Addressing retail crime and the impact on our community has been a top priority for me. I want staff, business owners and shoppers to feel safe and be safe.
“It was really useful to me to hear views today, which will help shape my Public Safety Plan and help me hold the Chief Constable to account for the way police are responding to this issue.”
