Only six out of 140 retailers respond on joining New Forest Shop Watch scheme

AN invitation to 140 New Forest retailers to join a scheme to fight shoplifting received only six replies.

Sgt Leigh Brown revealed these figures to a meeting of the Lymington and New Milton neighbourhood police team, adding the response to Shop Watch was “not great”.

He said the town had been chosen to host a new shoplifting pilot which was being launched by New Forest District Council.

Sgt Brown said: “140 retailers have been contacted to try and see how many of those would be interested in getting involved in the scheme.

“Unfortunately to date the replies haven’t been great. Only six businesses have come back with a reply.”

He said invitations had been sent to “everyone on the high street” and to villages including Hordle and Milford.

Sgt Brown said that the poor response may be because large chain shops needed to consult bosses higher up rather than the manager of the store making the decision.

But he said the manager of Waitrose in Lymington was “very keen to get on board”.

He added: “We just need enough retailers to get on board, so we can hold meetings where they can say, ‘This is what we think the problems are’, and what needs to be done.

“Ultimately it is their businesses and it is them who are losing money, daily or weekly. It needs to be a joined-up approach.”

Sgt Brown said retailers could ban people from shops if they had been caught shoplifting, deciding at meetings and taking a vote.

Several residents at the town hall meeting said they had seen shoplifters taking goods with security staff doing nothing to stop them.

Sgt Brown said that stores had to judge incidents on a “case by case basis” and if there was risk to security staff of being assaulted “but they have CCTV and know they [the shoplifter] can be identified” they will let them leave and inform the police.

Cllr Jacqui England said she and other councillors would be willing to talk to retailers in the town about the scheme and also to the Chamber of Trade.

She suggested holding a meeting between store owners and police where the scheme could be explained “face to face”.

But Cllr England also revealed that despite being a shop owner in the town she had not received the letter and would be contacting NFDC for a copy.

A spokesperson for NFDC said: “The Safer New Forest Partnership has responded to concerns raised by the increased profile of shoplifting offences in Lymington by writing to over 120 retailers in the Lymington and Pennington areas.

“The letter, sent out in late August, requested retailers respond with their interest in meeting with the council, police and retail security experts as we wish to support the business community within Lymington, understand their experiences and share best practice. The partnership has received a number of responses to the letter but would always encourage more feedback.

“However, we understand this is an important priority for the police and the retail sector, and retailers are busy people. Therefore, the Safer New Forest Partnership will plan for a meeting in due course and invites will be sent out to those retailers we have previously written to.”