More than 40 arrests across Northamptonshire as part of campaign against retail crime

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More than 40 arrests were made across Northamptonshire as part of a police campaign against retail crime.

Safer Business Action (SaBA) week ran from October 14-20 and saw Northamptonshire Police carry out a range of activities including targeting wanted suspects, retailer engagement and patrols.

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Officers made 43 targeted arrests for shop theft and other business crimes, with the majority charged for court, according to the force.

Some have already been dealt with by magistrates, with custodial sentences totalling more than 59 weeks handed out during SaBA week itself.

Safer Business Action (SaBA) week ran from October 14-20 and Northamptonshire Police took part.Safer Business Action (SaBA) week ran from October 14-20 and Northamptonshire Police took part.
Safer Business Action (SaBA) week ran from October 14-20 and Northamptonshire Police took part.

Chief Inspector James Willis, who leads on retail crime for Northamptonshire Police, said: “In all our work to tackle retail crime, we keep its impact on people at the forefront of what we do – how shoplifting affects store staff and owners, how we can work together to make it easy for them to supply the evidence we need and providing support and advice going forward.

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“Our arrest figures this last week are only one part of our retail crime work, but they reflect the Force-wide effort going on to tackle retail crime all year round.”

Of those arrested, 11 of them were also arrested on suspicion of offences including rape, assault, and drug possession.

The force kicked off SaBA Week by launching its new Retail Crime Strategy, a three-year plan setting out all the work underway that is helping to make Northamptonshire a hostile place for retail offenders.

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Patrols and police surgeries were held throughout SaBA week in hotspot retail locations across the county, alongside retailer and business engagement visits carried out by the Retail Crime Team and Neighbourhood Policing Teams.

Ch Insp Willis said: “The work of the Retail Crime Team is really bringing excellent results, enabling us to work with businesses to capture vital evidence quickly and easily, saving them time and effort.

“This means we can be ready to charge people swiftly and helps in securing early guilty pleas at court, as offenders know they cannot explain away CCTV showing them committing these thefts.

“By building strong two-way relationships with retailers we can also ensure they have the right support in place for their staff, and share crime prevention advice too.”

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