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Bedfordshire Police are stepping up the fight against shop theft as it estimates that 95 per cent of offences are unreported.

Officers will be supporting shop owners cross the county in a special operation for Safer Business Action Week this week to raise awareness about theft and anti-social behaviour.

And they are asking owners to make sure they notify police when shoplifting occurs.

Chief Inspector Katherine Rivers who is leading the campaign in Bedfordshire, said: “The more information and CCTV we get, the more we can target our operations in the right places and against the right people.”

Safer Shops Awareness stalls will be set up across Bedfordshire as part of Safer Business Action Week

Community officers across Bedfordshire will be carrying out high profile events including patrols, and public engagement events at shops and shopping centres. They will be promoting the ShopKind campaign which encourages positive behaviours in shops, raising awareness about the scale and impact of violence and abuse against shop workers.

“The safety of shopworkers is paramount,” said CI Rivers. “Anything we do to improve behaviour has got to be a good thing.

“This week is about two things: engaging with businesses and the public and identifying and catching prolific offenders.

“It’s a national campaign but has a very local focus and that’s why we are taking it so seriously. We know how local crime and anti-social behaviour affects our communities.”

> In Luton, as well as a presence in the town centre, teams will be carrying out patrols, handing out Smartwater home security kits and talking to shop owners in Bury Park, Dominic Square, Chaul End, Farley and Biscot Road across the week.

> In North Bedfordshire the Safer Shops Awareness stall will be at Kempston Retail Park on Wednesday, October 16 and Silver Street Bedford on Friday, October 18, with high vis patrols in the town centre and St John’s retail park.

> In Central Bedfordshire officers will be visiting shops and shopping centres in Leighton Buzzard, Houghton Regis, Dunstable and Barton-le-Clay over the week and holding a “Coffee with a Copper” event at Morrisons in Houghton Regis between 2pm and 4pm on Wednesday, October 16.

There will also be police stalls and visits in Sandy, Cranfield, Shefford, Ampthill, Flitwick and Biggleswade.

Safer Business Action Week to tackle shoplifting in Bedfordshire - as 95% of offences go unreported