Essex Police has seen shoplifting increase in recent years. Between April 2022 and March 2023, 9,896 offences were recorded, but by March 2025 that had reached 14,327 offences.
The latest figures for April 2025 to March 2026 show that has dropped to 13,855, but just 34% of offences are currently solved – up from 24% in March 2025.
Denning said Operation Retail, where alleged shoplifters are presented with evidence of their offence and asked if they wanted a formal interview or for the cases to go straight to court, was having results and speeding up justice.
The force said 284 suspects were dealt with that way in the first six months of its operation, saving more than 10 weeks of officer time and bringing about 930 charges.
Neighbourhood policing teams in places like Brentwood, where officers work alongside council-funded town rangers, are also credited with making a difference.
Denning added: “We’re saving time, effort and money in getting people in front of the court quicker, and when they get in front of the judge quicker they tend to give guilty pleas.
“We’ve managed to raise our solve rate whilst reducing the amount of crime being reported to us, it seems like a really big win.”
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