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Thousands of shoplifting offenses go unpunished
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Thousands of shoplifting offenses go unpunished

A group of 10 people standing in a line holding yellow signs. The signs have an eye on them with the words 'Darlington ShopWatch' underneath.

Durham Constabulary administers the ShopWatch scheme (LDRS)

Thousands of theft offenses went unpunished by a police force.

Figures show that of 7,142 crimes in County Durham and Darlington in the past year, only 1,657 resulted in a charge or summons, according to data obtained by Personal Injury Claims UK.

Crime peaked in 2023/24 as shoplifting increased by almost 50% on the previous year.

Durham Constabulary said it was working “closely” with businesses through its ShopWatch scheme, but added it “cannot fight it alone”.

The ShopWatch scheme provides businesses with radios and telephones so they can quickly share information about suspicious activity with the police.

“Prevention and Rehabilitation”

Staff at MaxiDeals in Darlington said Local Democracy Reporting Service theft in the city is “horrendous” and “puts people’s jobs at risk and shops closed because of it”.

They added that the ShopWatch scheme helps them catch thieves more often.

A spokesman for Durham Constabulary said it was important the force “looked at the big picture”, trying to “address the underlying reasons for the crime”.

The force said it works with offenders after they have been released from prison in a bid to “help break their cycle of crime by providing addiction and mental health help and support”.

“Prevention and rehabilitation play a key factor in reducing these types of crime, but we simply cannot tackle them alone.”

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