Police increase patrolling in Plymouth to tackle retail crime

Police have increased high-visibility patrols in Plymouth city centre to crack down on crime in response to an increase in reports of shoplifting and anti-social behaviour, Devon and Cornwall Police said.

Officers were working with Plymouth Against Retail Crime (PARC) and Trading Standards organisation to patrol “high footfall areas”, the force added.

Sgt Tom Crabb said it was to “reassure the public” crime was taken seriously.

He said, “Officers visited shops in the area to speak with retailers to understand the issues affecting them. It resulted in numerous reports of intelligence relating to shoplifting suspects and individuals with links to drugs. These reports are being looked into and investigations are ongoing.”

Insp James Drake said: “Our officers will continue to conduct regular patrols throughout Plymouth, both in uniform and in plain-clothes, to target those looking to offend.

“As a message to individuals looking to commit crime in Plymouth, our officers will be doing all that they can to identify and arrest you. I would like to encourage the public and businesses to continue reporting any criminal activity.

“By doing this, it helps us to build an accurate picture of the crimes happening in our communities and allows us to build a strategic policing approach to target crimes effectively to keep our community safe.”

Meanwhile, to conduct a Safer Business Action Day (SaBA) in the city centre recently, Truro neighbourhood policing team were joined by partner agencies including Cornwall Council, Safer Cornwall, Truro City Council, Young People Cornwall, Cornwall Fire and Rescue, Shopwatch and Truro BID (Truro Business Improvement District), to conduct a Safer Business Action Day (SaBA) in the city centre recently.

Key focuses of the SaBA was shoplifting and associated anti-social behaviour. The Truro neighbourhood policing team have been working with local retailers to understand what issues are negatively impacting their businesses. Shoplifting and anti-social behaviour have been identified as two key issues within the city, and there have been increased reports of instances of both shoplifting and anti-social behaviour.

During the day of action, plain-clothed officers were deployed into specific premises in the city to provide guidance and reassurance to shops that have reported frequent and ongoing shoplifting, which has been affecting the safety of their staff.