Durham Police tackling blight of shoplifting in town centres
Durham Constabulary has refocused its efforts on stamping out the problem whilst also taking time to try and get to the root cause of the issue.
The force is working in a variety of different ways to combat the scourge on town centres from working closely with local businesses and utilising criminal behaviour orders to deploying extra officers and CCTV equipment.
In February, there were more than 500 reported shoplifting offences across the force area but Superintendent Neal Bickford, the head of the force’s neighbourhood policing team, believes the new initiatives are starting to deliver results.
He said: “It is a huge issue nationwide and things are no different in the Durham area. There are problems with organised gangs targeting high-value shops and there are people with addictions and struggling with the cost of living who are also stealing goods.
“Clearly, our figures have gone up in recent years and it is a cause for concern but we have come up with a strategy to tackle the growing problem.”
Figures from the force show that more than 7,000 offences were reported between March 2024 and March 2025, on the previous year, but the figure for resolution has risen from under 30 per cent to close to 50 per cent.
And Chief Inspector Claire Errington is tasked with liaising with local businesses and help them to improve their security measures.
Her team work closely with businesses and has ensured that anyone reporting a shoplifting offence will be spoken to within 24 hours.
She said: “We were getting a backlog of up to seven days but we managed to get that down to around 24 hours. Each area has a dedicated PCSO to work with businesses and that is helping build trust between everyone.”
The force has also worked hard to rebuild the Shopwatch scheme where businesses help to keep an eye on well-know prolific offenders and tip each other off.
Ch Insp Errington added: “We are applying for funding to secure some CCTV pods which can be deployed in different areas and they proved hugely popular when we used them in the Cornmill Centre in Darlington.”
The mobile CCTV units enable the force to focus cameras on areas which are experiencing high levels of shoplifting and act as a visual deterrent to offenders.
The force also has a dedicated team who work closely with other organisations, including addiction services and homelessness project, in an attempt to break the cycle of offending.
Sergeant Paul Footes, who heads the team, said we are working with prolific offenders to help them resolve their problems which fuel their shoplifting needs.
He said officers take offenders to appointments to help them address addiction issues.
“About 90 per cent of offending is down to drug or alcohol addiction,” he said. “Diversion work can be key to reducing shoplifting offences, if we can help people to stay out of trouble it is much more cost effective than the cost of locking people up for relatively short periods.”
Sgt Footes said that between January and March this year 91 percent of prolific offenders they have worked with have not committed another offence in that period.
However, if diversionary tactics don’t work the force turns to criminal behaviour orders (CBO) to tackle the most prolific offenders who can wreak havoc in busy shopping areas.
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Sergeant Dan Beardmore, who looks after Durham City Centre, said the force is securing more and more CBOs to tackle repeat offenders who are reluctant to change their ways.
He said the orders mean the police can remove people from the area before they commit any offences and give businesses some respite from shoplifters.
“One of things they prevent is people congregating together in the city centre and encouraging each other to commit offences,” he said.
“Some people may think that we are just moving the problem from one place to another but it gives us a chance to reduce the problem and deal with repeat offenders.”