Nottinghamshire Police commended as one of three forces providing the most effective response to retail crime
Nottinghamshire Police and Crime Commissioner Gary Godden has welcomed a new report by the British Retail Consortium which commended Nottinghamshire Police as one of three forces providing the most effective response to retail crime.
The Crime Survey Report, which was published this week, focuses on how forces are dealing with incidents such as shoplifting and violence against retail staff.
The Consortium, which has a membership of more than 200 major retailers and thousands of independent stores, examined forces across the country.
The report states that Nottinghamshire Police, Hampshire Police and Greater Manchester Police were “nominated as the best responders” to retail crime.
The report added that “an effective police response is vital to reduce incidents of violence and abuse; to make it worthwhile to report incidents; to secure prosecutions and convictions; and to enable the police to establish the actual statistics and allocate resources accordingly. Just as the police need to respond, retailers need to report.”
Commissioner Gary Godden said: “This report by the British Retail Consortium is really pleasing because it tells us that retailers themselves rate Nottinghamshire Police as one of the very best in the country at tackling retail crime.
“Figures published this week by the Office for National Statistics back up why they may think this - as they show there was a zero per cent increase shop theft in Nottinghamshire over the last year – compared to a 23% rise, on average, across the rest of the country.
“The proactive work by Nottinghamshire Police, in partnership with retailers, and the preventative work through the Offender to Rehab programme, which part-funded by my Office, are having a real impact, which is really reassuring for retailers and the wider public of Nottinghamshire.”
Nottinghamshire Police’s Assistant Chief Constable Suk Verma, responsible for local policing, said: “It is very encouraging that Nottinghamshire is leading the way in the fight against retail crime. This is testament to our close partnership work with the retail sector.
“We know full well the impact that retail crime is having on our city and county. Our business community is vital for our city, towns and villages to thrive and that is why we will continue to ensure those who cause the most harm to the retail sector are dealt with robustly.
“Last year, we established four priority tasking teams to target persistent and complex individuals.
“In addition to this we have remodelled our neighbourhood policing approach to ensure that our officers are in the right places at the right times to deal with the problems affecting our communities and that includes shoplifting.”
Alex Flint, CEO It's in Nottingham, said:
"As Nottingham's Business Improvement District, we play an important role in assisting city centre retailers to minimise the impacts of business crime.
“We are extremely grateful for the support of Nottinghamshire Police in this and are proud that the work they do to reduce retail crime in Nottingham has been recognised.
“Strong, collaborative partnerships like the one we have with Nottinghamshire Police are critical to success, and to providing businesses with the reassurance that we are fully committed to making Nottingham a safe place to work, and to trade."