IT MAY only be early October, but we are already starting to see Christmas adverts on TV and festive foods and presents appearing in the shops.

The issue of people stealing from shops is ever-present for police officers, with offenders generally being people who steal to fund a drug habit.

This is not always the case however – sometimes people think that they can get away with an even better bargain than the ones on offer and take food, drink, clothing or smaller electrical items from shops without paying for them.

This issue tends to increase from now until after the New Year, so I want to send a warning out to people this week and say that if you don’t pay for items you take from shops, we will be looking for you.

Our Neighbourhood Policing Team officers work hard to tackle the issue of shoplifting and have built strong links with local business, sharing information on repeat offenders and, in many areas, such as Huddersfield town centre, setting up a business-watch scheme.

Here, businesses in the town centre have access to a radio system with which they can pass information to the police and other business owners.

For example if a shop owner sees a shoplifter that we have made them aware of previously, that information can be shared with other stores so that employees can be on the look out for any suspicious activity.