Last night, Amazon on Station Road was broken into, the second incident in just two weeks. Today, I visited the shop and spoke directly with the staff about the impact these events are having.
Station Road has become a hub for increasingly violent shoplifting. This rise in crime is damaging our high street and leaving many residents and businesses deeply concerned about safety in the area.
In response, I’ve been working closely with local Police and Station Road retailers to address these issues. We are actively collaborating to make our high street safer.
Together with local councillors, we’ve set up a dedicated WhatsApp group for the business community with 82 members. When shoplifters are active, the group is immediately alerted and all relevant information is passed directly to the Police, helping them respond more swiftly.
There are two critical elements to tackling this problem, visible and frequent police patrols on the high street to deter and arrest offenders and retailers taking steps to protect staff and customers from what is often aggressive, organised shoplifting.
I remain committed to resolving this issue and look forward to hosting my upcoming Crime Summit in November, where we will bring together key partners to drive forward real, lasting change.
