Crackdown on the town shoplifters
DUE TO REPEAT OFFENDERS
POLICE have promised to crackdown on shoplifting in a Tameside town ‘overrun’ by a group of thieves who have cost businesses tens of thousands of pounds.
Traders in Hyde say they’re being targeted by ‘repeat offenders’ and dread going into work.
One shopkeeper said his town centre store was burgled twice in one night. Another said they had been spat at by thieves.
Some said the town has become ‘overrun’ by the group of around 10 people, who target the same few shops again and again.
Police have promised to crackdown on the problem after making several arrests for drug and antisocial behaviour offences.
Shop workers and owners tried to offer up solutions at a public meeting earlier this week.
Businesses have set up a dedicated WhatsApp group to circulate images of shoplifters and anyone engaging in anti-social behaviour.
Salon owner Joanne Highton told the meeting traders were having success with the group, which warns others about offending.
“Anti-social behaviour has not gone away but a lot of people have noticed that it’s subsided considerably from what it was,” she said.
Joanne said concerns have now become focussed on shoplifting, with reports of thousands of pounds worth of goods being taken each month.
One man told the meeting: “They are going around to the same shops every day. Any time they think they can get in, they will get in. The stuff they are stealing they then sell it.
Another woman said the problem was causing real distress for traders and their employees.
“We would all like to go work without dreading who is going to come in,” she said.
PC Ian Thompson, neighbourhood beat officer for Godley, was unable to attend the meeting but gave a statement. He said antisocial behaviour has been ‘reduced by a large amount’ with one offender receiving a criminal behaviour order and a second expecting a custodial sentence.
Drug dealing has also ‘dramatically decreased’ since police increased patrols and conducted stop searches, he reported.
“Over the last couple of weeks we have seized around £15,000 worth of drugs from the street. Now the anti-social behaviour and drugs are being taken care of my main goal now is shoplifting.”