Essex Police acts on shoplifting amid arrests across county

Essex Police said its officers made 24 arrests in relation to shoplifting during action undertaken across the county last week.

A total of 16 people were subsequently charged with theft offences and other related matters.

The crackdown saw seven people arrested in Harlow, four in Chelmsford and Thurrock, two in Braintree and Tendring and one each in Basildon, Maldon and Southend.

Inquiries - officers in Colchester are working to trace shoplifters in the city (Image: Newsquest)

However, no shoplifting arrests were made in Colchester between Monday, October 9, and Sunday.

It comes despite concerns from shopworkers that the city is facing an “epidemic” of thefts targeting shops.

Old Heath and Hythe councillor Fay Smalls said a High Street convenience store worker was “ambushed” by thieves who restrained them while snatching alcohol from the shelves last week.

And a meeting of Colchester Council’s crime and disorder committee last month heard about attacks on security guards.

Concern - Fay Smalls, pictured with Mike Lilley, shared her fears about shoplifting in Colchester (Image: Lee Scordis)

Michelle Reynolds, of Colchester Business Against Crime, told the panel: “Our members suffer losses every day, some unchallenged, some challenged.

“We’ve had security guards for stores knocked to floors; they’ve been assaulted by way of punching, kicking and spitting.

“We’ve had a female member of staff knocked to the floor because she tried to stop a shoplifter.”

An Essex Police spokesman said 13 shoplifting arrests have been made in Colchester over the past month.

On the beat - police officers patrol Colchester High Street (Image: Newsquest)

In September, Jay Rank, 40, of Mumford Road, West Bergholt, was charged with ten offences amid a probe into shop thefts in the city.

The spokesman said more than 2,400 shoplifting cases across Essex have been solved over the past year, an increase of 500 on the previous year.

He continued: “Essex is open for business but closed for crime. We’re a county of businesses and we’re working hard to protect them and their staff.

“Our priority is to keep businesses, staff, and their families safe and we’ve focused on reducing violence against them and incidents of violence against staff have fallen across Essex.”

He said officers are focusing on “repeat offenders and core locations”.