Crime prevention tactics tackling ASB and shoplifting at Leigh retail park

GMP’s Crime Prevention and local Neighbourhood Team are employing a number of tactics to tackle retail crime and anti-social behaviour at Leigh’s Parsonage Retail Park.

Last year, the area was identified as having encountered issues relating to theft, violence, and abuse towards shop workers.

Since then, officers and GMP’s crime prevention team have worked closely with stores, to drive down shopliftings, anti-social behaviour, build up intelligence profiles of known offenders, and liaise with security to better aid stores.

As part of this week’s ASB week of action, officers are continuing their work around the retail park, to tackle all manner of crimes that cause issues for workers and visitors alike. This includes drug use, graffiti, groups harassing people, and more.

Through rigorous high-visibility patrols, work with partners including charities and councils, and regular meetings with stores in the area, officers continue to crack down. The work over the last year has included:

• A partnership meeting has been established with key stakeholders, including the Leigh Neighbourhood Policing Team, Crime Prevention Team, town centre manager, retail park owners and security providers, rough sleeping support services, and various retailers. The group meets approximately every month to discuss crime trends and crime reduction tactics.
• The local neighbourhood policing team have progressed a number of Criminal Behaviour Orders (CBOs) to court, which puts restrictions on known offenders.
• Offering support to those in need before direct action is taken, including enquiring if certain support services are required.
• Working in plain clothes in conjunction with store security to monitor and apprehend shoplifters and ASB offenders in the act.
• Advising stores to change their layouts and making stores less ‘shoplifting friendly’ – including the use of new cameras.

Inspector Sam Davies, from GMP’s Leigh district, said: “Our local Leigh neighbourhood team and crime prevention team has delivered some excellent results in the Parsonage Retail Park area, engaging with stores and their management to create effective, long-terms solutions to shoplifting and anti-social behaviour.

“We recognise the issues that business crime, including shoplifting and ASB, can cause to workers; they are not minor crimes. They are real, serious problems and offences that can make people’s lives a misery. That’s why it is so important to use all the tools we have – including Civil Powers, Criminal Behaviour Orders, collaborative working with partner agencies, and targeted weeks of action – to tackle them and raise awareness.

“If you have any issues in the Leigh area, please do get in touch with your local team or attend a PACT meeting. Every piece of information helps us build up a picture of ongoing issues, and enables us to tackle the problems that affect you more effectively.”

Sue Andrew, Crime Reduction Coordinator at GMP, said: “Weeks of action should hopefully provide a catalyst for longer term problem solving and engagement in this area. Nationally, only around 6% of retail crime is reported to the police yet it is still one of our highest repeat demand generators.

“By engaging with key stakeholders we can better understand the problem and work in partnership to deliver tailored demand reduction tactics. There are some great examples of this across our Districts, including the longer-term work being undertaken on The Parsonage”.