Greater Manchester Police neighbourhood officers tackle shoplifting in Chorlton

Greater Manchester Police neighbourhood officers in Chorlton have been taking to the streets to tackle shoplifting.

In the first five months of 2023, from January to the end of May, there were 77 shoplifting offences recorded in Chorlton, compared to 101 in the same period last year - a 24% decrease.

And across the whole of GMP's City of Manchester South district offences have dropped by a fifth from 661 offences to 536.

Chorlton Neighbourhood Sergeant Jade Wells attributes this drop to proactive work her team has been carrying out in the community.

She said: “Shoplifting remains a priority across our district; in the past three months 10 prolific offenders have been arrested – three of these have received custodial sentences and will be subject to Criminal Behaviour Orders upon release, and one is awaiting sentence.

“We use a number of tactics to tackle the issue, including visible patrols and plain-clothes observation.

“We work with shopkeepers to not only identify offenders but also offer support and advice.

"The traders also have a direct line of communication with the Chorlton Neighbourhood Policing Team and we will continue to work hard on their behalf."

Priorities in Chorlton include burglary, which includes shoplifting, robbery and anti-social behaviour.

Inspector Gulzarien Khan oversees the Chorlton, Didsbury and Whalley Range Neighbourhood Policing Teams.

He said: "We have a number of methods of dealing with shoplifting and other community crime across the area, including criminal banning orders and bail conditions.

"We will work with the communities to tackle these issues and it's important that crimes are reported.

"More of our officers are out about and are much more visible, and I would urge the public to come up and have a chat."

Chorlton Park Councillors, Dave Rawson and Joanna Midgley, added: "Following a recent article in the national press about the problem of shoplifting in Chorlton, we asked to meet with the local police team to hear how traders are being supported.

"We were reassured by the Chorlton Neighbourhood Team that it is being tackled.

"We are keen to strengthen links with local officers and they will be most welcome at Traders and community meetings."

Greater Manchester Police revealed plans for an additional 264 neighbourhood police officers in March as part of an overhaul of Neighbourhood Policing.

The roll-out across the GMP force area means more officers tackling the crimes that matter the most to communities – including violent crime, drugs, anti-social behaviour, burglary, and vehicle crime.

Chief Constable Stephen Watson said at the launch: “The people of Greater Manchester are at the heart of this new neighbourhood policing model, which is reflective of us taking a back-to-basics approach to traditional policing.

“Through public consultation, we listened to our communities and this is the embodiment of our action to ensure they are on the receiving end of the very best policing services.

“It combines the reassurance that comes from having local, visible, and accessible officers bound to a patch, with a determined focus on fighting crime.”

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