Shoplifting rising and more culprits getting nicked

SHOPLIFTING is on the rise in Yeovil town centre – but police believe that is a sign of increased policing paying off and catching the offenders.

Acting Inspector Jamie Rees told members of South Somerset District Council yesterday (Wednesday, December 4, 2013) that incidents of shoplifting in the town had risen over the past year by 16 per cent.

But he said that the reason for the increase was probably because officers were nabbing more culprits than they were last year.

“We have done a lot of work in the town centre including stop searches of people,” he told members of the council’s Area South committee.

“This has led to more offenders being caught and that is the reason, I am guessing, for the increase.”

Officers will be out and about in the town in the busy weeks ahead with shops packed with Christmas shoppers.

Acting Inspector Rees told councillors that crime overall in the area was 8.4 per cent down, while the detection rate (solving crimes) stood at 39.6 per cent.

“The detection rate is down one per cent on last year, but it is still a healthy figure,” he said.

He reported that burglaries on homes was down 15.7 per cent and burglaries on non-dwellings had also fallen by 33.3 per cent.

Criminal damage had dropped by 14.7 per cent as had violent crime by 5.2 per cent.

PHOTOS: Shoplifting in Yeovil has risen by 16 per cent over the past year. The photos are for illustrative purposes only - not actual incidents in Yeovil.

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