Preston Police continue to tackle city centre shoplifting

Friday, January 5, 2024

This week, officers from Preston’s Neighbourhood Policing Team have been continuing to crackdown on shoplifters in Preston City Centre.

As part of Op Sabotage, our response to tackling shoplifting, to target the most prolific offenders, officers from the dedicated City Centre Team and Preston Task Force have carried out a range of high-visibility patrols, including officers being out and about on bicycles, and plain-clothed operations.

As a result of this week’s activity:

• 3 people were arrested for shoplifting. One was also in breach of sex offender notification requirements. One has since been charged with theft from a shop.
• 1 person was arrested for breach of a community order.
• 10 people were stopped and searched. Three of these were positive and those people were given a community resolution.

Inspector Dave Byrne from Preston’s Neighbourhood Policing Team said: “Shoplifters wreak misery on our local communities and their crimes are not victimless. We will not tolerate it in Preston and that’s why we have stepped up patrols in hotspot areas where shoplifting is more prevalent.

I would encourage businesses and members of the public to continue to report these crimes to us to ensure that we can tackle them robustly.”