Northamptonshire keeps tabs on shoplifters

Since the beginning of February in Northamptonshire every young person who has been caught shoplifting and who has received an Informal Action for shop theft has been referred to the NRCI to make a follow-up visit.

An Informal Action is typically given to a young person who gets into trouble for the first time. They are only given to offenders who fulfil a certain criteria. They must be a juvenile, admit to their crime and have not come to police attention before.

As part of the follow-up visits, PC Nick Stephens, Northamptonshire Police’s liaison officer to the NRCI, has been visiting young people in their homes with another member of the NRCI team and together they talk through issues centred on retail crime with the young person and their family.

More than half a dozen visits have taken place since the start of the initiative on February 1, 2008.

PC Nick Stephens said: “The whole idea of this new initiative is to ensure Informal Actions are carried out consistently and most importantly to ensure that the young person, and their family, is left in no doubt about the consequences of their future actions. After receiving an Informal Action we do not want the young person to offend again.”

Many shoplifters believe their actions do not matter because it is big business they are stealing from – a myth PC Stephens is working to dispel.

He added: “We point out that shoplifting is not a victimless crime and the NRCI team explains how shop thefts affect the retail community. We shall be keeping tabs on those we visit.”

There will be serious consequences for those people who insist on shoplifting. PC Stephens said: “Those that do not heed the advice from the Police and NRCI and continue to offend can end up in Youth Court. An Exclusion Order from the NRCI can also follow which bans the individual from entering more than 150 retail premises in the Northampton area.

“Getting a criminal record can also affect the young person’s ability to travel abroad and employment opportunities to say nothing of the heartache and stress they will cause to themselves and their families.

“We know that some young people are bullied into shoplifting and there is a lot of peer pressure but young people need to be aware that they are ultimately responsible for their own actions and will have to face the consequences.”

Joe Joyce, Northampton retail crime initiative co-ordinator, said: “The NRCI is excited to be playing its part in youth intervention. We see this as an important step in ensuring that young people understand the consequences of committing a crime and do not re-offend. It is also our opportunity to get across the frustrations that members feel as a result of being victims of crime.”

As part of the initiative the NRCI has produced a series of posters aimed at young people to raise their awareness of the consequences of becoming involved in shop theft.

“Hopefully more young people will not get involved in crime and this will have a positive effect for the future. The posters are an effective and immediate means of communicating with young people.”

The posters will be put up in schools and youth clubs around the town as well as any other locations where young people congregate.

Local cartoonist Chris Thorpe and Martin Woods from Northamptonshire Police’s Design and Reprographic Centre designed the posters.

Mr Thorpe said: “I hope my cartoons will catch the eye of young people so that they will then read the poster and think about the consequences of getting involved in shop theft. I enjoyed working on this project with the NRCI and hope the posters will deter young people away from retail crime.”