A Message from David Sidwick, Dorset Police and Crime Commissioner

As Police and Crime and Commissioner for Dorset, I want to reassure Dorset business owners retailers that Dorset Police and I are committed to tackling business crime, shoplifting and abuse against shopworkers. Shoplifting is not a victimless crime. It affects hardworking retail staff, businesses and local communities. 

That is why I set up the Dorset Safer Business Partnership in 2022, which brings together Dorset Police, local Business Improvement Districts, (BIDs), Chambers of Trade and Commerce and  lead retail representatives to work together to fight business crime in Dorset.

One of the partnership’s key priorities has been streamlining the crime reporting process, reducing the time it takes for retailers to report shoplifting offences to the police and supporting swifter action to bring offenders to justice.

Dorset Police has implemented a digital version of the crime packs businesses are asked to complete when they report a crime. These digital packs can now be completed and submitted online, removing the reliance on the postal system, which previously caused significant delays in the crime reporting process for both retailers and police. 

The force have also introduced a new digital evidence management system known as NiCE Investigate which is revolutionising how Police manage and investigate crimes. The system allows members of the public and local businesses to supply their CCTV, including video doorbells, mobile phone and/or dashcam footage via a secure link. NiCE Investigate removes the need for businesses to download the material to a disk or USB stick and then send it to Police. Uploading the digital evidence to NiCE Investigate is quick and easy and dramatically reduces the time it takes to build cases and identify offenders. What once took days can now happen in a matter of hours, helping officers to target prolific offenders more quickly and effectively.

Following a report of shoplifting to Police, the person reporting the crime will be sent a link to complete a digital crime pack and a link to upload the accompanying digital evidence such as CCTV footage, digital images and witness statements to NiCE Investigate. The information uploaded is then available immediately to police to commence the investigation. The flowchart above clearly shows the shoplifting reporting process. 

Improvements to the reporting process is just one way we are tackling shoplifting. In Dorset a relatively small number of prolific offenders are responsible for a disproportionate amount of shoplifting. Dorset Police’s Retail Crime Team targets high harm prolific shoplifting offenders through Operation Shopkeeper, which is delivering significant results. By identifying and targeting these repeat offenders quickly, Dorset Police can prevent further offences, reduce harm to retailers and staff, and make more effective use of policing resources.

The Team’s current positive outcome rate for cases where stores support police action is more than 65 per cent. Across the entire force, the positive outcome rate is 38 per cent, again well above the national rate of 28 per cent.

Every crime report helps Dorset Police to build a stronger intelligence picture and understand offending behaviour, link repeat offenders from across multiple stores and ensure those responsible are brought to justice. Dorset Police cannot tackle shoplifting alone; they need retailers to report shoplifting. The importance of reporting crime cannot be understated. 

In Weymouth, the local neighbourhood policing team secured a 5 year Criminal Behaviour Order (CBO) against Nicholas Gardner, aged 44 and of no fixed abode, who appeared in Court after being involved in more than 60 theft offences, with offences committed principally in Weymouth ,but also in Wareham and Dorchester.

When he continued to offend outside of the town centre, officers took action to ensure he was brought back before the courts with his Order subsequently enhanced to widen the area from which he was banned. Gardner was also jailed for 29 weeks. 

The team also recently secured a 10-month custodial sentence against prolific shoplifter Cade Adams. Of that 10-month sentence, one-month was for £14.75 worth of shoplifting from a local Londis. 

Convictions like these are why I continue to encourage every retailer to report every incident, no matter how small. There is no £200 threshold as the above conviction shows. Every report helps build the forces intelligence picture of a suspects overall offending. Together, through innovation, partnership and proactive policing, we are making Dorset’s town centres safer for businesses, employees and shoppers alike.

David Sidwick

Dorset Police and Crime Commissioner