Police action to support Cambridgeshire businesses

From arresting shoplifters to providing crime prevention advice to retailers, police officers were out in full force last week as part of national Safer Business Action Week.

Initiated by the National Business Crime Centre (NBCC), the week of action aimed to bring police and partner agencies together to support businesses and reduce business crime across the country.

In Cambridgeshire, Neighbourhood Policing Teams spent a total of 280 hours engaging with businesses across the county, offering crucial advice on safeguarding their establishments.

Additionally, 331 hours were spent carrying out patrols in key areas including around market stalls, shops, post offices, libraries, banks, building sites, trades businesses and pubs.

Neighbourhood Policing Inspector Sam Tucker said: “Last week gave us the opportunity to highlight the importance of supporting our businesses in the ongoing battle against crimes like shoplifting. Business crime is an issue across Cambridgeshire, yet often goes unreported.

“We work throughout the year with partner agencies to prevent these types of crime, however last week provided an opportunity to really focus our efforts on our business communities and work with them to drive down crime.”

Last week saw 25 arrests made for various offences relating to business crime, including shoplifting, business burglary and breaching Criminal Behaviour Orders relating to shoplifting. Of these arrests 69 separate charges were made, with 45 specifically related to theft from a shop.

Insp Tucker added: “We have been working closely with different departments across the force to secure Criminal Behaviour Orders (CBOs) for repeat offenders, last week we submitted a number of applications for new CBOs and also secured a 42-week prison sentence for one woman in Peterborough who breached the terms of her CBO and was caught committing further thefts.”

To address prolific shoplifters, the Cambridge neighbourhood team carried out covert operations targeting shoplifting hotspots throughout the city.

In Peterborough, banning orders were issued to youths causing anti-social behaviour around shopping centres. Both the Police and Crimes Commissioner Darryl Preston, and the Deputy the Police and Crimes Commissioner John Peach, supported officers during their high-visibility patrols in Peterborough City Centre.

Officers distributed 100 Selecta DNA marking kits in Ely, each capable of marking 50 tools, provided by the Police and Crime Commissioner's Safer Communities fund.

Additional activities included holding cybercrime information events for businesses at Huntingdon Library, Barclays Bank in St Neots, and Caring Together Charity in Girton.

Insp Tucker added: “I want to extend my gratitude to the dedicated teams involved last week, recognising the vital importance of their efforts and the role partners played. Their hard work and determination led to significant business engagement, prevention activity and focussed enforcement.

“While Safer Business Action Week serves as a focused event to raise awareness and target business-related crimes, it does not stop there. We continue to work with partners across the county to combat crime and anti-social behaviour affecting the business community. In line with this commitment, we are also working with licensed premises, stepping up patrols in areas with bars and pubs, and will continue to do this throughout the Christmas season.

“We encourage all to report information about business-related crimes by calling 101, or 999 if a crime is in action.”

Information about protecting a business from crimes can be found on the force’s dedicated business crime prevention webpage.

Further information about national Safer Business Action Week can be found on the news section of the NBCC’s website.