Shoplifting is ‘almost a daily occurrence’ in Sneinton Dale
BUSINESSES CONCERNED AFTER HOME OFFICE FIGURES REVEAL THEFT HOTSPOT
CONCERNS have been raised about high rates of shoplifting in part of Sneinton.
Recent Home Office data published on police.uk confirm their fears, revealing that 24 incidents of shoplifting were reported in October alone.
Most of the incidents happened in Sneinton Dale – a street with a number of takeaways, supermarkets and other businesses. According to the localised data, the hotspot is near the Co-op, where 21 of the 24 incidents were reported in October.
Earlier in September, the area recorded 31 reports of shoplifting – 24 of which were all reported on the same road.
Kylie Holmes, manager of the Co-op in Sneinton Dale, said: “Shoplifting is a regular occurrence here – it happens almost every day. It is frustrating really because it happens so often.”
The 32-year-old added: “It makes staff feel unsafe with handling money because we all know it is happening.
“Police are almost always here because we report it every time it happens. It is a shame because this is a lovely community.
“We know our customers and we have a good relationship with them.
“We are trying to make an impact and we a close relationship with the police – we are working on it.”
Ayesha Bibi, who has been running her beauty salon on Sneinton Dale for six years, added: “We are definitely concerned that we might get targeted – and I think it is difficult for many businesses in the area.
“We do see some rough people out and about, and we sometimes become suspicious.”
The 35-year-old added: “It is truly a wonderful community here – so it is a shame. I have been here for six years because I love this place, and the community. There are some lovely people here – but some people make it hard for everyone.”
Abdul Ghani, 71, owner of News Shop on Sneinton Dale, said: “I think it happens so often because there are some people who generally cause problems in the area.
“They are fighting, shouting – there are people who cause anti-social behaviour around here. It make it harder for businesses really – and it is a shame.”
Mr Ghani, who has been running his store for almost four decades, added: “There are many good people around here, it is a diverse community – but other people just cause problems all the time.”
Sergeant Natham Phipps, of Nottinghamshire Police, said: “We understand that shoplifting is a significant concern for local businesses who are already facing some very challenging circumstances. But the good news is we now have more officers on our streets than ever before, engaging with the public thanks to the force already hitting its target to recruit new officers by March 2022.
“In Sneinton Dale and areas throughout the south of the city, we are working extremely hard alongside our partners and members of the public – doing everything we can to tackle every form of crime.
“If we spot an emerging crime trend, we will endeavour to put a large number of resources into cracking down on the issue and have done so with great success.
“As we have repeatedly said, care should be taken interpreting the Police UK figures as they do not give an accurate or reliable picture of crimes in Nottinghamshire. This is because the data is based on reports of crimes rather than the number of actual crimes – which could lead to a misleading overinflation of the reality if presented as crime numbers.”