A clampdown on retail crime in Nottingham is continuing to yield results – with more shoplifters arrested in recent days.
Officers are continuing to track down offenders after retail crime was set as one of the neighbourhood policing priorities in the city centre.
On Sunday (30 November), patrolling officers came across an intoxicated man who had fallen over in Lower Parliament Street. They went to assist him and found he was wanted in relation to the theft of a £299 soundbar that had been stolen from John Lewis on 18 August. They took the 64-year-old into custody, where a search of his bag led to the discovery of suspected stolen goods including bedding and a curling iron. Enquiries into these matters are ongoing.
In an unrelated case, another 64-year-old man has been arrested after failing to appear in court having been charged with stealing £185 worth of clothes from Superdry. Colin Jeffery, of Ogdon Court, Nottingham, failed to appear at Nottingham Magistrates’ Court on 20 November and so a warrant was issued for his arrest. Officers arrested him on Monday (1 December) so he could be put before the courts.
Elsewhere, Peter Boumphrey, aged 51, was arrested on Friday (28 November) moments after stealing two boxes of chocolate and a pack of screwdrivers from Poundland in Wheeler Gate. Patrolling officers were alerted and Boumphrey, of no fixed address, was duly arrested and charged with theft.
On the same day, wanted shoplifter Gemma Swindell was arrested after being spotted in the Victoria Centre. Swindell, aged 39, of The Wells Road, Nottingham, had been wanted by police in connection with the theft of multiple pairs of Victoria’s Secret pyjamas from the shopping centre’s Next store. She was charged with theft and was due to appear at Nottingham Magistrates’ Court on Monday (1 December).
Chief Inspector Kylie Davies, who oversees neighbourhood policing in the city centre, said:
“All of these offenders are prolific shoplifters who have no regard for local retail businesses.
“As these arrests demonstrate, tackling retail crime is a key priority for us and I am pleased more positive outcomes have been achieved in the past few days.
“We know full well the impact that retail crime is having on our city and county and that is why we will continue to ensure those who cause the most harm to the retail sector are dealt with robustly.”
