How Leigh's officers work with stores to tackle shoplifting and retail crime

Neighbourhood officers in Leigh have teamed up with GMP’s crime prevention team to tackle shoplifters within the town centre and nearby retail park.

In response to reports of shoplifting within stores at Parsonage Retail Park, officers have implemented a detailed plan to tackle the problems that have arisen.

Officers have been meeting managers on a regular basis, providing support and advice on the issues which have been affecting them the most.

Criminal Behaviour Orders have been handed out to the most prolific offenders – a handful of which may have countless dozens of offences between them – which excludes them from certain areas of Leigh Town Centre, and can result in further punishment if breached.

Other work includes:

• Increased patrolling of the affected areas to provide an extra presence.
• Extending a Public Space Protection Order to include areas that are affected by shoplifting.
• Engaging with homeless people to provide support and signposting to food banks and charity services.

The Crime Prevention Team have made further progress via a number of methods:

• Working with town centre management to aid from a prevention aspect
• Exploring environmental changes in the immediate vicinity of the stores to reduce the opportunities for offending
• Handing out crime-busting retail toolkits which provide material and support on reporting and dealing with shoplifters.
• Providing posters to stores which signpost to the closest foodbank.

More broadly, Greater Manchester Police is part of a retail steering group, which gathers representatives from various stores in the Greater Manchester region to discuss issues which they are experiencing. This assists in informing the direction in which districts will take when tackling retail crime.

PC Simon Winrow, from GMP’s Wigan district, said: “By working closely with stores, we are able to provide important information on reporting and dealing with crimes when they come in. We are committed to tackling shoplifting in the retail park and across Leigh, using various orders, tools and resources to do so.

“If you are a retailer in Leigh, please do get in touch, as we are determined to aid you where we can. You can do this by talking to an officer, or attending one of our local PACT meetings, which are advertised on our social media pages.”

Sue Andrew, from GMP’s Crime Prevention Team, said: “Prevention is a key part of tackling crime. By analysing the root causes of the problems, we can work with key stakeholders and members of the retail community to develop bespoke problem solving solutions.

"These could include improvements to CCTV and lighting, physical security measures, risk assessments and staff training. By implementing a range of risk commensurate measures we can remove the opportunities to offend, and increase the risk for offenders."