Labour & Co-operative Candidate for Police & Crime Commissioner in Hertfordshire Cllr. Tom Plater, and Labour’s Prospective Parliamentary candidate for Hertford & Stortford Josh Dean, have today (24th April 2024) pledged to tackle retail crime at a visit to the Central Co-op food in Sawbridgeworth.
The visit to the Co-op food in Sawbridgeworth included store staff and staff from the Co-op loss prevention team sharing their experiences with shoplifting, assault on shopworkers and how criminality at the store and in the local area is taking a real toll on the mental health and wellbeing of the community in Sawbridgeworth.
In the past year in Hertfordshire under a Conservative Police and Crime Commissioner shoplifting has shot up by 35%. This comes as research shows nearly 50 per cent of the public say they never see an officer on the beat – up from 27 per cent when Labour left office in 2010.
Tom’s plan to tackle retail crime in Hertfordshire includes:
A named PC or PCSO for each local shopping centre in Hertfordshire
Use of technology to make crime easier to report for Shop-workers
Holding the Chief Constable to account to improve police response to retail crime.
Tom Plater, Labour & Co-operative Candidate for Hertfordshire Police & Crime Commissioner said:
Under the Conservatives, shoplifting in Hertfordshire has risen significantly, and we have a retail crime epidemic across our County. As your Police and Crime Commissioner in Hertfordshire, I will focus resources back on proper neighbourhood policing and make sure that criminals no longer feel they have a free pass to steal from the local supermarkets that serve our community. With a Labour Police & Crime Commissioner in Hertfordshire and a Labour Government in Westminster, we can make our county safer for our local communities across the county.
Josh Dean, Labour’s Prospective Parliamentary Candidate for Hertford and Stortford said:
I'm grateful to the team at the Co-Op for taking the time to share their experiences with us. No one should feel unsafe at work or in our community. Labour recognises the damage retail crime can do to our communities, especially in an essential local shop like the Co-Op. As our MP, I will work closely with the next Police and Crime Commissioner, local police, businesses and residents to tackle crime and antisocial behaviour in our community, and I'm glad the next Labour government will bring forward legislation to tackle retail crime and deliver safer streets.
