Bury St Edmunds: Retailer calls for police crackdown on shoplifters

Joy Denny said staff have stopped putting as many items on the shelf as a result of thefts

A retailer who said thousands of pounds worth of stock had been stolen from her store has called for a stronger police crackdown on shoplifters.

Joy Denny, managing director of family-owned Denny Bros Supplies, said more needed to be done to prosecute thieves.

"These lower-value crimes, particularly under the £200 mark, they just don't seem to really go anywhere," she said.

Suffolk police Ch Insp Andy Pursehouse said shoplifting was reported on a "daily basis" and was taken seriously.

Ms Denny said the art, craft and stationery store store had implemented additional measures to help deter thieves, such as increasing security and signage about CCTV.

'Without prosecution'

She said she believed many stores had given up reporting thefts to the police due to the lack of follow-up.

"People seem to be without prosecution and I think that's what's encouraging it," she said. "Police need to crack down on these things."

According to the British Retail Consortium's 2023 crime survey, there were about eight million thefts from March 2021 to March 2022 nationally but police recorded less than 340,000 cases.

Chief Inspector Andy Pursehouse said Suffolk Constabulary are "keen to tackle" shoplifting in the area

Mark Ellis, a police community support officer, said shoplifting was "one of the most common crimes" in the area but felt it was under reported.

"[Stores] probably feel that it's wasting police time. They'll stomach the loss but that loss soon mounts up," he said.

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Ch Insp Pursehouse said: "We do understand the impact that shoplifting can have, particularly on small businesses. We're always willing to provide advice and support to them.

"We will patrol where we know it's happening, and we will deal with those offenders where it's reported to us."