Quickly exit this site by pressing the Escape key Leave this site
We use some essential cookies to make our website work. We’d like to set additional cookies so we can remember your preferences and understand how you use our site.
You can manage your preferences and cookie settings at any time by clicking on “Customise Cookies” below. For more information on how we use cookies, please see our Cookies notice.
Your cookie preferences have been saved. You can update your cookie settings at any time on the cookies page.
Your cookie preferences have been saved. You can update your cookie settings at any time on the cookies page.
Sorry, there was a technical problem. Please try again.
This site is a beta, which means it's a work in progress and we'll be adding more to it over the next few weeks. Your feedback helps us make things better, so please let us know what you think.
A week of action highlighting the year-round policing work going into tackling retail and business crime saw Northamptonshire Police make more than 40 arrests.
Safer Business Action (SaBA) week ran from October 14-20 and saw the Force carry out a range of activities including targeting wanted suspects, retailer engagement and patrols.
Thanks to the work of the Retail Crime Team in identifying offenders, officers were able to make 43 targeted arrests for shop theft and other business crimes, with the majority promptly charged for court.
Some have already been dealt with by magistrates, with custodial sentences totalling more than 59 weeks handed out during SaBA week itself and more people due in court soon.
Chief Inspector James Willis, who leads on retail crime for the Force, said: “We’re proud to have taken part in the latest Safer Business Action Week, which is coordinated across the country to shine a light on the issues surrounding retail and business crime.
“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.
“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.”
Shoplifting offences weren’t the only thing some of the arrested suspects were wanted for, with 11 of them 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.
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.
The Retail Crime Team is made up of police officers and police staff, and is supported by civilian evidence gatherers who are employed by the Northamptonshire Business Crime Partnership thanks to funding from the Office of the Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner.
The team is leading the way in bringing prolific offenders to justice and supporting retailers, raising both crime reporting rates and positive justice outcomes.
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.
“We continue to encourage businesses to report every incident to us and to explore the benefits of joining the Northamptonshire Business Crime Partnership.”
Read the Retail Crime Strategy here.
Find out more about the Northamptonshire Business Crime Partnership here.