New measures tackle shoplifting

The new measures are being used by the Borough Council, alongside partners including the police and Hinckley Business Improvement District (BID).

Counterfeit electronics and other illegal goods have been removed from sale in Hinckley town centre ahead of a busy festive shopping season.

A quantity of illegal items has been recovered this year, including counterfeit smartwatches and earphones, which are unsafe and not manufactured to correct safety standards. A large amount of illicit tobacco and illegal vapes were also recovered by the Police and colleagues from the Borough Council’s licensing team.

Over the last year, with support from partners, the police have been able to deal with a large number of retail thefts in Hinckley, putting a number of offenders in prison and recovering a large amount of stolen property.

Hinckley Police and their successful local policing operations have achieved great success in detecting retail theft; well above the Leicestershire Police average.

Partnership work has also enabled the introduction of new nighttime economy marshals to the town centre. They work alongside the police and door staff to act as a deterrent and intervene quickly to stop incidents from escalating. They will be a regular fixture over the busy festive period, including the Hinckley Christmas lights switch on.

Cllr Michael Mullaney, Executive Member for Community Safety, said: “It’s great that Borough Council officers have been working with the police, Hinckley BID and local businesses to reduce crime in Hinckley.

“Retail crime has been a focus of ours and, under the banner of Hinckley BID Retail Watch, we have seen excellent results – with arrests made and property recovered.”

The Community Safety Partnership continues to allocate a proportion of their funds from the Police and Crime Commissioner Partnership Locality Fund to support the town centre retail radio scheme and the nighttime economy marshals.