Officers secure 91 shop theft charges in a week

Last week, our officers secured 91 charges of shop theft against 22 people plus another four charges of assault against retail workers.

In the past four weeks, 117 arrests have been made for shop theft* across Essex. Between 1 January and 5 May 2024, that figure rises to 541.

In one case last week, two brothers from Burnham were jailed for a year each for a series of thefts from shops across the south of the county. They mainly took hand-held scanners, valued at more than £20,000, but also stole designer clothes, perfume and makeup.

Between 29 April and 5 May, eight people were arrested in the Chelmsford district; seven in Colchester; six in each of the Harlow and Southend districts; five in Thurrock; two in Tendring; and one in each of the Basildon, Epping Forest and Rochford districts. That’s a total of 37 arrests.

One person arrested last week was cautioned for theft offences. Cases involving eight others are still being investigated while no further action will be taken against four others. Two will receive a community resolution.

While many of the arrests are made by officers locally, our specialist Business Crime Team works with retailers to encourage them to report shop thefts and assaults of shop staff to us.

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.

Sergeant Christian Denning, of the Business Crime Team, says that more retailers are reporting shop thefts and assaults against their staff to us, and are willing to provide CCTV footage and witness statements which help us to secure convictions at court.

“We are dedicated to supporting businesses and advise them on security and staff safety.
“We also tell them what investigating officers will require from them to support a case, should they have to report a crime.
“Essex Police officers are committed to investigating all retail crime and providing the CPS and the courts with the best possible evidence so we can secure charges and convictions to obtain justice for the retailers and the staff they target.
“No-one should have to worry about crime when they go to work.”

 

* 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.

At Essex Police, we value difference. We know we’re strongest when we work together. And we want a workforce that represents our communities. 

If you share our values and want to help people, keep people safe and catch criminals, then join us as a police officer, member of staff, special constable or volunteer.

Find out if you #FitTheBill by visiting our careers page.