Police New Process – Theft- Shoplifting

The demand on the police service and resources is ever increasing and they are always looking for ways to be more efficient. As such starting immediately, police in Rotherham will be adopting the following process when a business reports a Theft by shoplifting in order to increase our efficiency when dealing with this offence.

Only where no offender has been detained or identified will the following be adopted –

• The officer in the case will make telephone contact with the store and request a copy of the best still/s of offender/s & a copy of receipt for goods stolen is e mailed to them. These stills will be circulated immediately by the officer in order to ascertain the identity of the offender.
• The store will retain the receipt and CCTV in a safe and secure manner/ format, should it be required once an offender is identified.
• A date, 21 days from the date the stills are sent to the officer will be agreed with the store. If by this agreed date the store has not been informed by the officer that the offender has been identified, the store can dispose of the CCTV/ receipt.
• When an offender is identified the officer in the case will attend the store and collect the CCTV/ statement for prosecution purposes.

During the old practice, police found officers were chasing stores in order to secure evidence, making multiple enquiries and on many occasions the CCTV was not ready or the person who can download it are off duty. This did not utilise officers time efficiently, especially when the evidence may not be required if no offender is identified. Employees were also spending time downloading CCTV onto discs that were not subsequently used as no offender was identified. This new process is aimed at increasing police efficiency in dealing with Theft crimes, but also reduce the time store employees spend gathering the evidence when it is not required.