Two new schemes in Essex to accelerate the charging process for shoplifters
Wednesday, 23rd April, 2025
Sgt. Christian Denning
Shoplifting
Essex Police is speeding up the process of putting suspects for shop thefts before a court, says Sergeant Christian Denning, of the force’s Business Crime Team.
Two new schemes aim to improve conviction rates while freeing up officers’ time and allowing them to get back out on the streets of our neighbourhoods, where they belong.
In the year to 31 March, Essex Police officers made 1,374 arrests for shop theft and assaults on retail staff in Essex – securing 2,442 charges – and solved 530 more offences than in the previous 12 months.
“The rise in shop thefts continues to be a big focus for our teams and we are committed to investigating all incidents where we have the evidence to build a case for court,” says Christian.
He heads up the force’s specialist Business Crime Team, a dedicated team of officers who work with retailers to reduce their susceptibility to shop thefts by advising on crime prevention, building security and staff safety.
“We have a force Rapid Video Response team of police officers who have expanded their remit to include incidents of shop theft where a suspect has been arrested,” explains Christian.
“The arresting officer will obtain the details of a member of staff who knows what happened, can provide a witness statement and, hopefully, provide us with good quality CCTV footage of the incident and who has a device which can receive a secure video call from one of our RVR officers.
“This allows victims to provide the RVR officer with an immediate account of what happened and secure vital evidence before it is forgotten, lost or recorded over, while the arresting officer can take the detainee straight to custody.”
And named shop theft suspects can now be summonsed directly to magistrates’ court in certain circumstances without the need for arrest or interview.
Christian says: “To be able to do this, officers will need good quality CCTV footage of the offence taking place with a clear image of the offender or a suitable witness statement.
“But if it is likely the suspect will contest their case, has no home address, is a persistent offender or there are aggravating factors, such as an assault, then this process isn’t suitable for them.”
He adds: “Shop theft is not a victimless crime. It affects a store’s bottom line and may cause them to increase prices for customers, while offenders can also be violent and abusive to staff and customers.
“We understand this, which is why we urge retailers to report crimes to us, and to ring 999 if it’s a crime in progress.
“Through these two schemes, we aim to get suspects for shop theft before the courts more quickly, in some cases removing the need for them to be arrested before they are charged.
“If we are provided with good quality CCTV and witness statements, plus information about the items stolen and their value, then offenders are often left with no option other than to plead guilty at the first opportunity.
“The fact that we’ve solved 530 more shop theft offences in the past 12 months than we did in the previous year is testament to this.”
The Business Crime Team’s Open For Business, Closed For Crime campaign encourages retailers to report shop theft, assaults on staff and anti-social behaviour to police and provide CCTV footage and witness statements.
This information enables business crime officers, neighbourhood policing teams and town centre teams to target their operational activity accordingly.
“No-one should be afraid to go to work. We want to make our high streets, corner shops and retail parks safer places for everyone to work in and visit,” says Christian.
As well as securing 2,442 charges of shop theft, in the past 12 months, Essex Police officers cautioned 123 people for the offence while another 698 people received community resolutions.
