Mansfield man jailed as part of major crackdown on city centre shoplifting
A Mansfield man has been put behind bars after be convicted of shoplifting in Nottingham city centre.
Liam Newton, 32, of Chesterfield Road South was jailed for four weeks after stealing toy drones from Waterstones and meat products from Tesco.
His arrest and subsquent hailing is part of a major crackdown on shop thefts in Nottingham city centre saw police make arrests in 83 separate investigations last month.
Once tracked down, many offenders have quickly found themselves in court thanks to a direct charging scheme, known as Operation Retail.
Led by retail crime officer PC Phil Yates, the scheme has removed the necessity to interview suspects where there is clear and overwhelming evidence, freeing officers up to investigate other reports.
Such has been the success of Op Retail, it has been incorporated into the wider Operation Reclaim project – which was launched in May and is a partnership approach to tackling the major issues affecting the city centre, resulting in more than 450 arrests to date.
As well as tracking down offenders, neighbourhood officers have continued working with retail partners to prevent offences happening in the first place, contributing to a 10 per cent reduction in shoplifting over the past two months.
Multiple other suspects are due to appear at Nottingham Magistrates' Court over the coming weeks having been charged with various offences. They include four people charged with breaching their Criminal Behaviour Orders (CBOs).
PC Yates said: "Retail crime has a significant impact on local businesses, which is why we are committed to doing all we can to reduce thefts and pursue offenders, especially the most prolific and habitual offenders.
"I'm delighted that our efforts are paying off with shoplifting down 10 per cent in the city centre.
"This has been part of a three-pronged approach to tackling retail crime, with the primary focus being on the investigation and detection of crime, as well as ongoing work with retail partners to attempt to prevent and reduce crime from occurring at their premises.
"Op Retail has sped up the efficiency with which retail-related thefts can be investigated and suspects charged to court.
"A lot of hard work has gone in by officers across neighbourhood teams, supported by response officers, the prisoner handling team at custody and partnership agencies and businesses across the city centre."