Election candidates discuss rise in shoplifting

Elections for the police and crime commissioner for Cambridgeshire take place on 2 May

Shoplifting figures in Cambridgeshire and Peterborough have risen by 47% in a year.

In the year ending September 2023 there were 5,813 reported incidents to Cambridgeshire Constabulary, according to the Home Office. That compares to 3,956 the previous year and 2,922 in the year ending September 2021.

Paul Gerrard, a public affairs director at the Co-op, said a number of its staff in the Cambridge area had been affected.

He said it was a crime with emotional and financial consequences.

The BBC asked the county's police and crime commissioner (PCC) candidates how they would deal with the issue.

Candidates are listed below in alphabetical order by surname.

Edna Murphy is the Liberal Democrat candidate

Liberal Democrat Edna Murphy says "Cambridgeshire Police need to up their game" when it comes to responding to shoplifting.

She said the force needed to be "far more responsive" and claimed sometimes officers did not "turn up for hours", particularly regarding commercial burglary.

Ms Murphy added she would like shops working more collaboratively to identify prolific offenders.

She would like to look at why people were shoplifting, as part of a wider strategy.

Darryl Preston is the Conservative candidate

Darryl Preston, who is the current PCC, is the Conservative candidate.

He said tackling shoplifting was in his current police and crime plan and claimed there had been some successes.

Mr Preston said he would ensure all crimes reported to police were investigated.

He highlighted "dealing with prolific offenders" and the "root causes such as addiction to drugs or alcohol" as important.

Anna Smith is the Labour candidate

Anna Smith is standing for Labour. Regarding shoplifting, she said: "We must have a fresh start on this, it's just not good enough."

She highlighted low numbers of police community support officers (PCSOs), claiming there were only 20 in the Cambridgeshire Constabulary area.

She said this was down from more than 200 in 2010 and blamed Conservative cuts, adding she would fight for fairer funding.

"I have heard of shocking cases of people dealing with terrifying situations for one or two hours before anyone comes. We can't have that," she said.