Officers arrest 37 people for shoplifting in a week

Our specialist Business Crime Team works with retailers to encourage them to report shop thefts and assaults of shop staff to us.

The officers are dedicated to supporting businesses and advising them how to stop crimes from happening in the first place, providing security, staff safety, crime prevention, fraud and cyber-crime advice.

Last week, 37 people were arrested by Essex Police officers across the county on suspicion of shop theft, with 25 subsequently being charged with a total of 51 counts of shop theft. Three of those were also charged with assault.

Business crime officers work with the retail community to stress the importance of reporting shop theft, abuse and violence against staff.

And, together with our designing out crime officers, they provide individual stores with tailored crime prevention and security advice. All this work comes under the banner of Open For Business, Closed For Crime.

“Retail staff now have more confidence to report theft and anti-social behaviour to us.
“This helps us to identify emerging issues so we can work with businesses to mitigate risk and protect their staff and customers.
“Reporting incidents also provides us with evidence of patterns of offending behaviour which we can use in court to apply for criminal behaviour orders and exclusion requirements to be imposed on persistent and prolific shoplifters.”
Business crime officer PC Alex Plakhtienko

Between 1 January and 31 March 2024, our officers made 396 arrests for shop theft* across Essex.

Between 25 and 31 March, eight people were arrested in the Southend district; seven in Colchester; five in Chelmsford; four in Basildon; three in Epping Forest district; two in each of the Brentwood, Castle Point and Harlow districts; and one in each of the Rochford, Tendring and Thurrock districts and at Stansted Airport.

Two people arrested last week were cautioned for shop theft offences. Cases involving seven others are still being investigated while no further action will be taken against three others.

 

* Arrests for shop theft. This relates to the number of arrests our officers have made. A person may have been arrested more than once for theft from a shop during the time period. And they may have been arrested for more than one offence.

 

Essex Police Business Crime Team

Our Business Crime Team specialises in supporting businesses, working to build relationships with independent shops and retail chains, explaining how they can report crime to us and, just as importantly, what will happen when they do. 

They help to identify risks in the workplace, providing crime prevention, fraud and cyber-crime advice and strengthening links with businesses and partners, including local community safety partnerships, Essex Chambers of Commerce and the Essex Federation of Small Businesses. 

Working with the National Business Crime Centre, the team share nationally-identified crime trends and best practice with our business community. And they have also developed a comprehensive guide to business crime prevention which identifies steps business-owners can take to protect themselves and their properties. 

For more information about how our business crime officers can help your business, visit our Business Crime pages.