Burnham – Retail Theft

Agreed on 9 January 2025. Updated on 9 January 2025

Identify and Disrupt prolific offenders who partake in acquisitive crime against retailers in the Burnham-on-Sea area.

Engage with local retailers who are repeat victims of retail related offences such as public order and theft. Intervene positively with offenders using powers of arrest, search and dispersal to prevent offending and target harden Burnham.

Retail theft has been a long term issue in Burnham. A sudden increase in offending and the seriousness of offending in the summer saw a successful operation where 4 prolific offenders were charged with 20 offences.

Theft is a national target with the Policing Retail Crime Action Plan and the NPCC Lead for Retail Theft stating it “can have a significant impact on victims, which is why we are committed to doing all we can to reduce thefts and pursue offenders, especially those prolific and habitual offenders who cause misery within the community”.

This is an ongoing issue that the Neighbourhood Policing Team will continuously review every two weeks through the Intelligence and Tasking Process.

Actions

9 January 2025

Partnership Working – Take a joint problem solving approach alongside our partners such as Somerset Council, Education, Health and Housing to reduce the likelihood of re-offending.
9 January 2025

Community Engagement – Use Social Media to increase awareness of RetailWatch which is the Burnham initiative to tackle Retail Crime by providing a direct link to the Neighbourhood Policing Team.
9 January 2025

Community Engagement – Provide clear guidance to Retailers about how report crime and intelligence using 999 in an emergency, 101/The Force Website and via Crimestoppers.