Latest news with #JulieTeckman
BBC News
4 days ago
- BBC News
'We've chased shoplifters down the street' says Northampton shop owner
A shop owner has described the mental toll shoplifting has and how her staff get "so angry" they have chased offenders down the Julie Teckman who runs Vintage Guru in Northampton said recent schemes and more visible policing has improved the situation the town shop was one of those visited by policing minister Dame Diana Johnson as the government launched an initiative to have greater protection for town centres from crime and anti-social Ms Teckman praised police she said shoplifting "really affects people quite badly". 'Brazen' Ms Teckman said: "There are opportunist thieves who come in and feel it's okay to take stuff if they can get away with it."Then there are other people who are desperate who come in because they're trying to steal things just to make some money."Ms Teckman spoke about the emotional effect on her and her said: "It's the knowledge that someone's come in and taken something from you and walked out, and some people are very, very brazen about it because they think you can't do anything about it"We've chased people down the street."I would never put any of my staff at risk, but you get so angry when someone comes and takes something and does it in a brazen way that you feel you want to do something about it."Ms Teckman said initiatives such as the "anti-crime pod" along with greater police presence in the town centre was staring to pay off."It's that sort of support knowing that someone's on hand," she said of police officers in the town centre. 'Getting officers out on foot' Nicola Davis-Lyons, the Neighbourhood Inspector for Northampton Central said it was "really important that the businesses here see us and that the people that are here see us."She said the type of crimes that occur in town centres, such as antisocial behaviour and shoplifting were "quite complex issues to solve".Insp Davis-Lyons said: "You can't police your way out of a lot of those things."She said the force had involved partners such as local council and community groups to helps with "secondary issues" alongside the Davis-Lyons added one change police had made to the town centre was that "officers will only be out on foot".She claimed there had been a reduction in violent crime and sexual offences in the town added: "Seeing a police officer walk past, we know it impacts that feeling of safety." 'It's wrong' Speaking in Northampton, Dame Diana Johnson, the Labour government's policing minister said she agreed with Insp Davis-Lyons. She said: "There's the obvious issue around people feeling much better when they see a police officer."I have lots of people saying to me they don't see the police officers enough in their local area."Dame Diana said the government was committed to adding more neighbourhood police officers and to cracking down crimes such as said: "It's theft, no matter whether it's a small item for five pounds or something that costs hundreds of pounds. "It's wrong and it's a criminal act that people are undertaking."The minister praised Northamptonshire Police and the work going on in the town centre and its work with retailers, responding to their concerns, saying it was an "important relationship" Follow Northamptonshire news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.
The Independent
07-05-2025
- Business
- The Independent
‘Dalek' CCTV pods rolled out to stop shoplifting
New CCTV devices reminiscent of Daleks in Doctor Who will be rolled out on English high streets this summer in a bid to deter shoplifting. The security systems, named Safer Pods, were piloted in December at the Vintage Guru shop in Northamptonshire, where they are said to have helped to reduce shoplifting within a matter of weeks. The standalone pods, which capture a 24/7 video stream monitored constantly at an external location, are intended to also act as a visual deterrent to shoplifters, and are equipped with sensors which immediately raise the alarm if the pod is moved or tampered with, according to its manufacturers. Likening them to Doctor Who Daleks, Vintage Guru's owner Julie Teckman reported within just a few weeks of installing one of the pods that it had been successful in deterring crime in her shop. 'They are quite big and noticeable, which you need so people know they are being watched,' Ms Teckman told the BBC. 'It's more about feeling like there is something helping you prevent crime as a lot of our time is taken up watching out for shoplifters and stopping people from thieving. 'We have had to employ more staff and install cameras due to crime, so it is nice having the support of the pods.' Following the new devices initial success, Northamptonshire's police, fire and crime commissioner Daniella Stone has now agreed to fund a summer rollout of the pods. The announcement comes after new official figures showed the number of shoplifting offences recorded in a single year by police in England and Wales exceeded half a million for the first time on record. Police recorded 516,971 shoplifting offences in 2024 – a 20 per cent increase on the previous year, and the highest number recorded since modern record-keeping practices began in 2003, according to the Office for National Statistics. The British Retail Consortium also warned last month that retail crime was continuing to 'spiral out of control', with shop theft costing retailers more than £2.2bn a year. The industry group cited a recent survey of major retailers suggesting that there are more than 20 million shoplifting incidents per year, most of which allegedly go unreported as shopkeepers 'simply don't have faith' that the police will take action. In Northamptonshire, however, a new specialist police unit has reported a significant rise in the number of shoplifting offences 'filed with a positive outcome' over the past year. Corby's town centre manager Dan Pickard said that the town had seen a 75 per cent reduction in anti-social behaviour following a 'massive peak' last year in which serious incidents rose from around 30 a month to 220 over a sustained four-month period.
