'The police don't care about thefts from my shop'

Mayank Parikh says News Box, in Wickford, has suffered four thefts in the past ten days

A shopkeeper says he no longer reports low value thefts because police only care if goods worth more than £200 are swiped - a claim Essex Police denies.

Mayank Parikh said News Box, in Wickford, Essex, had been targeted four times in the past ten days.

He told the BBC shoplifting was happening so frequently that people "would not believe it".

Business crime officer Sgt Christian Denning said it was a "myth" that officers only cared about high value thefts.

Essex Police said it has made more than 100 arrests for shoplifting in the past month.

'They don't even care'

Mr Parikh, a shopkeeper of 11 years, said shop theft was a major issue in the south of the county.

"The day before yesterday three boys came in, they just took a drink and ran away," he said.

"My wife was standing there, she can't do anything - that's the worst thing.

"[The police] told me up to £200 they don't even care, so there's no point in me reporting it."

Muhammad Mobeen owns Phone Geeks in Wickford

Muhammad Mobeen, who owns Phone Geeks in Wickford, said a shoplifting tag-team had worked to distract him so they could steal from his premises.

"When we are busy with other customers they take advantage," he said.

Nimesh Patel, who runs Browns convenience store, said thefts had become more frequent in recent weeks.

He said: "We’ve had to move things around the shop."

Sgt Christian Denning insists shopkeepers report every theft from their premises

Sgt Denning said more than 500 shoplifting arrests had been made since the start of the year.

He added that 75 "prolific" offenders were being monitored by officers.

"The £200 thing... It's certainly a myth we want to bust," he said.

"If there’s not much of an opportunity or a chance for us to actually catch an offender, I get it.

"The problem is we need to build that picture, a narrative of what’s going on in the town, so we can actually get our resources correct in the first place."

The officer stressed better communication between both shopkeepers and the police would help to tackle the problem.

"I know it’s a lonely place being a shopkeeper and sometimes I think our communication could be a little better, but we are working on that," he added.