Shopkeepers in Towcester, Northamptonshire, are urging police to take a more proactive approach to combatting a rise in shoplifting. Business owners claim thefts often go unpunished and police response times are inadequate, leaving them vulnerable to repeat offenses.
The owners of two small businesses in Towcester, Northamptonshire said thefts often go unpunished and police response times are too slow.
Northamptonshire Police's new chief constable, Ivan Balhatchet, said the force now had the "fifth highest in outcomes for retail crime" in the country.Last year a House of Lords inquiry found there were more than 443,000 incidents of shop theft recorded by police in the year to March 2024 – the highest ever since records began 20 years ago.
Ms Gamgoum described an incident in October 2024 were a man stole £400 worth of jewellery from a cabinet and another time where someone came in and stole her new phone that was worth £1,000.The business owner said she now has a cheap phone to feel safer. "Sometimes you feel it's not worth calling the police. There are more serious crimes, but these people need to be stopped."Christine Hedges said shoplifters can take what they want without fear of being stopped by staff
SHOPLIFTING CRIME POLICE RETAILERS NORTHAMPTONSHIRE
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