Shoplifting crackdown success

Great Yarmouth police have vowed to continue their successful clampdown on shoplifters, which has achieved dramatic results through having more traditional bobbies on the beat.

Great Yarmouth police have vowed to continue their successful clampdown on shoplifters, which has achieved dramatic results through having more traditional bobbies on the beat.

Because the town's police have focused on getting more officers to patrol the town centre, shoplifting has fallen by 48pc over the Christmas period compared to last year.

PCs Nigel Robinson and Neil Smith, PCSO Jason Osben and special constable Ian Brown are familiar faces around shops and market stalls as they deter any quick fingered thieves stealing goods.

During the Christmas period the officers were boosted by the addition of four police officers so they could work even more closely with shops to deter thieves.

Thanks largely in part to the patrols there were just 17 incidents of shoplifting recorded in the town centre between December 1 and January 3 compared to 33 in the same time period in 2008/9 - a fall of 48pc.

As Sgt Dan Smith of the South Yarmouth neighbourhood policing team celebrated his team's success he vowed to carry on making the town centre a no go zone area for shoplifters.

He said: “My message to shoplifters is we know who you are. People who shoplift in Yarmouth will be dealt with effectively and dealt with robustly.”