A POLICE crackdown on retail crime across North Wales has led to a “hugely positive” nine per cent increase in the detection rate for shoplifting that’s bucking the UK trend.

But the officer running the campaign, Supt Jon Bowcott, says he’s not resting on his laurels and is the first to admit there’s still a lot of work to do.

Since last autumn, he’s been the North Wales Police lead on retail crime and he’s set up a task force to combat it.

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Supt  Bowcott will be giving an update on the crackdown and offering advice and guidance at a special conference – titled Protect Your Business! Expert Session - that’s free for North Wales businesses next month.

The event, between 10.30am and 1pm on Thursday, March 7, at the Scala Cinema in Prestatyn, is being organised by the North Wales Police and Community Trust (PACT) in conjunction with North Wales Police and the North Wales Business Council.

Other speakers will be focusing on how businesses can guard against cyber crime and property theft as well as dealing with anti-social behaviour and spotting the signs of modern day slavery.

The renewed push on detecting retail crime in the region comes against a backdrop of a significant increase in offences across the UK – with a 32 per cent hike in England and a 36 per cent rise in Wales as a whole.

While the 24 per cent increase in North Wales is smaller, there have been 800 more shoplifting offences reported in the region since last April, compared to the previous year.

The good news is that a growing number of shoplifting crimes are being now detected as a result of the force’s campaign.

When it started in the autumn, the detection rate was running at 29 per cent and had increased to just over 38 per cent during January.

Supt Bowcott said: “There has been a national trend where retail theft was increasingly dealt with over the phone if the offender wasn’t there.

“We’re moving away from that and switching it around so that the default option is that we will attend when retail thefts have been committed, particularly where an offender has been detained, where violence has been used or threatened or where there are enquiries at the scene the would benefit from an officer attending. 

“To oversee our response and analyse performance I am chairing a coordination group made up of key individuals from across the force to ensure we continue to make progress.

“Essentially, we are having a renewed focus on combatting retail crime because it’s about fulfilling the message of our mission to make North Wales the safest place to live, work and visit in the UK.

“Cracking down on retail crime aligns well with the force’s vision set by our Chief Constable Amanda Blakeman and is absolutely the right thing to do.”