South Yorkshire police crackdown on shoplifting in Rotherham

Pop-up stalls allowed officers to engage with communities across South Yorkshire

ELEVEN shoplifting charges were secured in Rotherham by South Yorkshire Police as part of the Safer Business Action Week that took place around the county.

A woman (35) has pleaded guilty to three counts of theft following a shoplifting spree at Home Bargains.

SYP announced a man in Rotherham was also arrested and charged with breaching the terms of his Criminal Behaviour Order which prevented him from entering a Tesco store in the town.

A number of operations and high visibility patrols were carried out by SYP as part of the Safer Business Action Week.

SYP has announced the expansion of partners committed to tackling crime as part of the South Yorkshire Business Crime Charter to crack down on retail crime.

Inspector Kay Fitzgerald, lead for retail crime, said: "To secure almost 90 theft charges against suspected shoplifters in South Yorkshire over the course of the week of action is a fantastic result.

"Retail crime remains a complex issue for forces nationwide but in South Yorkshire, we remain steadfast in our dedication to ensure that perpetrators of these crimes are brought to justice.

"The notion that shoplifting is a victimless crime with no impact on anyone is completely false. We see first-hand just how abusing and threatening some shoplifters can be and we will not allow them to make retail workers feel unsafe in the workplace.

"It is also great to see our Business Crime Charter up and running and we were delighted to expand the network of stakeholders involved by encouraging Boots and Tesco to sign up to it.

"The more businesses that sign up to this Charter, the more we can work together to share crucial information and intelligence on prolific offenders, while also sharing key crime prevention advice to keep stores protected from thieves.

"I hope the results of Safer Business Action Week sends out the clearest message yet that shoplifting won't be tolerated in South Yorkshire.

"If you are committing these crimes, the cameras are watching you and you will be brought before the courts and punished."

Business owners around South Yorkshire are able to sign up to the South Yorkshire Business Crime Charter via the SYP website.