RETAILERS in Marlow are being invited to a meeting next week to learn more about the success of a town-wide initiative to crack down on shoplifters.

PC Emma Taylor of Thames Valley Police will give a briefing at Marlow Chamber of Commerce’s meeting at the Crowne Plaza Hotel on March 17 about ‘Shopwatch’.

And Chamber members are inviting all retailers in the town to come along and hear about the success of the scheme, which launched before Christmas.

The system works by intelligence sharing between shops and businesses, which pass on information and warn others about known offenders or specific incidents of shoplifting.

This information then gets relayed to the police and a central CCTV control centre in High Wycombe so the culprits can be tracked down and arrested.

Many of Marlow’s biggest shops are already on board with the Shopwatch scheme, including Boots and Waitrose.

And Police are keen for more retailers to get involved to help the crackdown, which is already seeing results according to shop owners and officers in Marlow.

To book a place contact the Chamber secretary Jo Braybrooke on 01628 488238 or jorod@btinternet.com