Extra police patrols at shops with highest crime

Police are working with various partners to target shoplifters in Exeter

Police are carrying out extra patrols of the shops in Devon with the highest rates of crime.

As part of Safer Business Action Week, officers from Devon and Cornwall Police have been walking around shops in Exeter to "increase community confidence", as well as offering safety advice to members of staff.

There have also been patrols at shops in Torquay by the town's local policing unit.

Sonya Ellis, who runs Exeter Craft Hub on Sidwell Street in the city centre, said anti-social behaviour and shoplifting were prevalent in the area.

Sonya Ellis said more police officers were needed in the city centre

Ms Ellis added: "We have a lot of independent traders in this road... and we also have a lot of lone female workers, so in particular we have a lot of concerns about working alone, and the level of anti-social behaviour.

"Some of the night times you're very cautious, I quite often take my radio with me just in case.

"Some people have left their jobs because of it, and it is quite a worry, but we all work together and support each other as much as we can."

Police said officers had been patrolling stores "hit with the highest rates of reported shop theft" and would be targeting prolific offenders.

PC Sophie Holt, neighbourhood beat manager for Exeter city centre, said business owners and the police in the city were "forming a better relationship to work together, and try and make a bit of a difference".

She said: "I've been in this role for a year-and-a-half and I've really seen a shift of change in how the police are approaching shoplifting in the city.

"I feel we're working really well with out partners to identify a series of shopliftings, our serious offenders for shopliftings, and dealing with them robustly."

Andrew Sharman, co-ordinator for the Exeter Against Business Crime group, works with a team in a CCTV control room in Exeter, which is owned by the city council.

The CCTV control room team in Exeter monitors more than 300 cameras 24 hours a day, 365 days a year

The team are in direct contact with police and monitor more than 300 live cameras and are able to pass any relevant information to police officers on the ground.

Mr Sharman said: "What we've seen in the last 12 months is a marked improvement in reporting, we've introduced a new reporting platform... which has seen a 200% increase in reporting, and that gives us a lot more information about who's doing what, where, and when."

He said this had in-turn led to "some very positive outcomes", including criminal behaviour orders and prison sentences - which he said had alleviated some pressure on local businesses.

"Unfortunately the mission goes on, because the offending doesn't stop, so we have to keep going, but I think we certainly feel more confident than we did a year ago," Mr Sharman added.