The crime tsar for Thames Valley has pledged to tackle shoplifting in High Wycombe after a rise in thefts. 

As previously reported, business owners spoke to the Free Press last month about their concerns, saying the increase in offences was putting staff and businesses at risk.

The Police and Crime Commissioner for Thames Valley Police visited a Buckinghamshire town yesterday to speak with business owners about tackling shoplifting in the area.

Matthew Barber met several businesses in the Eden Shopping Centre in High Wycombe yesterday (October 17) to discuss the roll-out of a new crime logging system, Disc, an information database that he said would help police tackle a nationally endemic shoplifting problem and could help to facilitate water-tight prosecutions. 

Speaking to the Bucks Free Press, the Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) said the system, which is initially being rolled out in High Wycombe with the aim of extending it across the wider region, would go some way to disrupt the "vicious circle" of unreported crimes and police inaction.

"There has been a lot of talk about shoplifting recently, but we don't always see an increase in the number of reports to the police. I'm conscious that a lot of retailers feel they haven't had the support they've wanted from the police in recent years.

"Disc is built on intelligence sharing, so it may not be something that happens instantaneously, but it does make it easier for retailers to bring together several instances of shoplifting to secure a prosecution and get a really good sentence.

"We're also in the process of deploying more officers to front-facing neighbourhood roles - a really important part of preventing these offences is being more visible and acting as a deterrent."

READ MORE: Over 90 delivery parcels stolen from Eden Shopping centre in burglary

Mr Barber also disputed claims that the rise in shoplifting accidents across the Thames Valley, by 15 per cent per 1,000 people in the year up to March 2023, was a result of the cost-of-living crisis, instead pinning blame on "large-scale criminal gangs" operating elaborate schemes, often at the expense of vulnerable individuals.

"What you see is people stealing large volumes of high-value goods like meat, which isn't being stolen for people to survive, it's stolen to be sold on to other businesses.

"It's often the homeless, the alcoholics and the drug users who take the criminal risk of actually pushing a trolley out of a supermarket, but there is usually a pretty sophisticated criminal gang behind it, and that's what we need to tackle."

Melanie Williams, Chief Executive of the High Wycombe Business Improvement District (BID) added that "shoplifting, begging and abuse of shop staff" were some of the biggest hurdles facing trading success in the town.

She added that she had observed a "huge amount of negativity" towards the police from business owners who felt their crime reports had been ignored in the past, describing shoplifting in particular as a "multifaceted, complex issue" that required action from business owners and police alike.

"Historically, businesses and employees have told us that they've become apathetic because they haven't got the response time they've wanted from police. We're here today because we really want to show them that we know shoplifting is not a victimless crime, and we are listening."