South Yorkshire Police are launching a series of crime prevention measures across Sheffield, Doncaster, Rotherham and Barnsley, as part of their newest campaign.

The ’Safer Business Action Week’ campaign is helping police to work alongside local businesses to target prolific shoplifters and send out a clear zero-tolerance message to offenders. 

Inspector Kay Fitzgerald, force lead for retail crime, said: “We know retail crime has become an increasingly prevalent issue, not just in South Yorkshire but across the wider UK too, and that is why these dedicated weeks of action are so important.”

The annually occurring campaign, organised by The National Business Crime Centre (NBCC), has already seen great success as a serial Doncaster shoplifter was jailed this Monday (14th October) after officers collated a catalogue of CCTV evidence which showed him stealing from various shops in the city.

Aaron Dillon, 28, of Queens Road in Hull, stole six jackets and five boxes of boxer shorts worth almost £1,400 from TK Maxx in September.

Prior to that, he stole boxes of Ferrero Rocher chocolates from Sainsbury’s and washing products from One Stop.

All of his offences were captured on CCTV.

The footage was reviewed by officers who were able to link Dillon to all of the crimes, leading to his arrest and him pleading guilty to three counts of theft.

Dillon was jailed for a year at Doncaster Magistrates’ Court, following additional time he served behind bars for a burglary he committed in July.

Sergeant Steve Roberts, of Doncaster Central Neighbourhood Policing Team, said: “This is a really encouraging result during the national Safer Business Action Week that South Yorkshire Police is proud to be a part of.

“Over the course of this week, we are carrying out arrest attempts for people wanted for shoplifting offences and conducting proactive patrols in retail-focused areas of the city”

Officers successfully caught another two people who were charged with theft on Wednesday (16th October), this time in Sheffield city centre.

Winifred McCarthy, 40, of Hilltop Road, Nottingham, was arrested and later charged with one count of theft and one count of possession of a Class A drug.

It comes after she was accused of stealing a £49.99 coat from TK Maxx in Orchard Square.

Joshua Stone, 28, of Erskine Crescent, Sheffield, was also arrested on Wednesday.

He was charged with theft after being accused of stealing diffusers worth £199 from Next in The Moor.

Both are due to appear in Magistrates court.

Whilst many arrests have been made this week, there are still many offenders South Yorkshire Police are still targeting.

Inspector Fitzgerald said: “Shoplifters have no place in our society and retail crime is far from victimless. It sees shop workers get abused, harassed or attacked in the workplace, which is completely unacceptable, and every theft has a direct consequence on local economies in South Yorkshire.

“We are in regular consultation with retailers about how to best protect themselves against shoplifters and throughout this week, we will continue to engage with them to understand more about the issues they are facing when it comes to retail crime.”

For more information on South Yorkshire Police’s charter, please click here.