Efforts from the North Herts Neighbourhood Policing Team (NPT) to tackle retail crime is seeing early positive results in Hitchin.

Theft from shops is one of the Hitchin local neighbourhood policing priorities.

A partnership with one of the town's most targeted outlets is proving successful and being highlighted on the back of last month's Safer Business Action Week.

Neighbourhood officers have been working with the bp Stevenage Road store which had been plagued by thefts.

However, following a collaborative approach with police, incidents at the store have reduced significantly: From 1 January 2024 there were 75 recorded thefts at the bp store. The operation began at the start of October with no thefts reported during the month.

Hitchin NPT Sergeant, Taz Gill, said: "We have formed an excellent relationship with the store and I wish to extend my thanks to all store staff for their ongoing efforts"

"Our collaborative approach has reduced the number of shopliftings in addition to the various crime prevention methods which have been put in place".

"Several offenders have been identified and taken to court with your local officers having worked tirelessly to bring offenders to justice, whilst tackling frontline demands of 999 calls as well as the court files required for these offences"

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"I would like to recognise their hard work in keeping the store staff and wider community safe".

"We have a zero-tolerance approach to thefts - regardless of items and value. This is because the behaviour of the theft of a low value item is likely to lead to further offending. Dealing with the offenders for these offences early ensures we put the right safeguarding and support in place to prevent those becoming repeat offenders"

"The impact of store thefts is not only financial loss for the business, but the store staff often face these offenders which can be intimidating and cause worry. We are committed to adhering to the Retail Crime Action Plan as no store member should feel scared at work"

"We work with all businesses in the town and across North Herts and remain committed to tackling retail crime robustly. We will pursue all offenders to ensure North Herts is a safe place to live and work."

Iona Blake, Europe mobility & convenience security manager, bp, said: "Safety comes first at bp, always. Nothing is more important. We want our colleagues to feel safe at work and our customers to have a great experience when visiting us. This is another great example of how collaboration can help us – and the sector - combat crime at our stores."