South Yorkshire police steps up efforts to tackle retail-crime

South Yorkshire police have agreed to step up their efforts to tackle crime and will press local councils to update their CCTV software so retailers can report crimes more easily.

The agreement happened  at a meeting between the NFRN trade body, the commissioner and police officers earlier this month.

Under the undertaking, a new software will be introduced  in all districts’ councils after which shopkeepers can upload CCTV onto the council’s systems without an officer having to call – something that saves police time and speeds up the process of getting critical information to the authorities. 

Such a software is already in use in one of South Yorkshire’s district councils. 

It was agreed that independent retailers require a simpler method of reporting crime and that some find themselves too busy to complete lengthy online reports.

However, the police officers said that lack of reporting means vital intelligence is lost, and patterns of crime may be missed.

This can mean that when someone is caught and goes to court, the full extent of their crimes is unclear, and a lesser sentence is given.

NFRN also pointed out independent retailers are usually unable to afford dedicated security officers.

The commissioner also said he would meet again with local retailers to hear their personal stories, and that he will reference retail crime in his forthcoming Police and Crime Plan.

The force, which already has a special point of contact for retail crime PC Tony Nicholls, has also recently appointed a lead senior officer for retail, chief inspector Gareth Thomas.