No hiding place for Huddersfield shoplifters
Nov 24 2010 Huddersfield Daily Examiner
THERE will be no hiding place for shoplifters in Huddersfield this Christmas.
In the busy run-up to Christmas, Kirklees police are warning shoplifters to stay out of town centres.
And we are giving shop staff the perfect opportunity to make sure the thieves cannot strike.
Photographs of known convicted thieves will be circulated to shops across Huddersfield and Dewsbury to let staff be on the alert.
Some of the thieves are known drug-users who steal to feed their habits.
The festive period is traditionally a time when businesses can be targeted by thieves who take advantage of busier shops and distracted staff.
Officers have been working to identify the most high-profile shoplifters in both centres and are working with store owners to make them aware of these ‘usual suspects’.
Three shoplifters in Dewsbury who have been through police custody three or more times in the last year and have tested positive for Class A drugs, have been identified as ‘High Crime Causing Users’.
Four repeat offenders in Huddersfield have also been highlighted.
Officers from the respective Huddersfield and Dewsbury Town Centre Neighbourhood Policing Teams will now be handing out posters displaying pictures of the repeat offenders.
The posters are not for public display, but if business people see someone on the poster they are being asked to call the police, who will come and check that the people aren’t up to no good.
Officers can carry out stop-checks and will make arrests where necessary.
Mick Walker, of the Kirklees Drug Intervention Programme, said: “Sadly there are a small number of people in Kirklees who have been caught shoplifting a number of times and show no signs of stopping.
“We are therefore looking to expand on the work already being done by the Neighbourhood Policing Teams in Huddersfield and Dewsbury, to link in more closely with store owners and send a message to these offenders that they are not welcome in our towns and we are looking out for them.”
As many of the offenders are known drug users, under the Misuse of Drugs Act, if necessary police will have the power to stop-check the repeat offenders to see if they are carrying drugs, suspected stolen goods or equipment to help them steal from shops.
