Police, businesses and charities join forces to tackle retail crime in Mansfield

Police officers joined forces with local charities, businesses and retailers during a day of action to tackle retail crime and antisocial behaviour in the town centre.

The Safer Business Action (SaBA) Day brought together dozens of groups and individuals with a shared interest in making the town a better place to live in, work in and visit.

Part of National Business Crime Centre week of action, Tuesday’s event was designed to engage local retailers, discuss local issues and put in place workable solutions to shared problems and concerns.

The day, which saw dozens of officers patrolling the streets, also featured a business crime forum event at the offices of the Mansfield BID, where local traders met face-to-face with senior officers to discuss local trends.

Attendees were also treated to a hard-hitting presentation by a former prolific shoplifter, who shared valuable insights from the mind of an offender.

Earlier in the day, officers worked with street outreach and homeless support workers to engage with vulnerable rough sleepers and ensure they are getting the help and support they need.

Officers also visited 15 licenced premises as part of an ongoing operation to clamp down on the sale of stolen goods.

During the day four people were arrested on suspicion of shoplifting offences and another prolific offender was detained for breaching the terms of a criminal behaviour order. Five other people were ordered out of the town centre as a result of their behaviour.

Inspector Ollie Vale, tactical business crime lead at Nottinghamshire Police, said: “Retail crime is a blight on our town centres and hugely damaging for local businesses. It can also be very upsetting for shop staff who all too often are coming face-to-face with offenders.

“Ultimately, combatting this kind of offending has to be a team effort, with the police working in partnership with local businesses and other stakeholders to understand the threats and share information.

“That is what this day of action was all about and the feedback we have had has been very positive. We had some extremely productive discussions with people who came to the forum event, and also took the opportunity to go door-to-door and survey other retailers about their concerns.

“All in all we were very pleased with how it went and we will holding similar events across the county in the coming weeks and months.”