Peterborough police chief warns 24/7 business patrols not possible
The idea has been suggested in a bid to tackle retail crime in the city
Peterborough and Fenland's new police chief believes 24/7 patrols to keep businesses safe from retail crime would be "disingenuous".
It comes as a shop owner in Orton Goldhay suggested the idea after being previously targeted by shoplifters.
"It would be disingenuous if I said we would patrol every street 24/7," Superintendent Olly Warsop, area commander, said.
"I couldn't say we would, 24/7, have a continued presence in every street in Peterborough because we obviously couldn't and there would be different places we'd need to be, but I think we probably have made some gains in that area."
Recent crimes
This month, two men pleaded guilty to a series of retail crimes.
Giorgi Letodiani of Woodford Green, Essex, admitted five counts of theft and sentenced to 17 months in prison after going on a stealing spree across Cambridgeshire.
While Thomas Storey was jailed for 26 weeks for a string of thefts and threats against shop staff in Wisbech.
Between April 2025 and the end of March this year, 7,160 shoplifting offences were reported to Cambridgeshire Police, compared to 7,639 for April 2024 to March 2025.
"It's not acceptable those people have been a victim of that crime," Supt Warsop said.
"The more we understand about the issue, the more successful we're likely to be."
More reporting could lead to success - police
In response to retail crime, Cambridgeshire Police say it's applying for criminal behaviour orders for repeat offenders to stop them from entering areas where they have previously committed crime.
The force has also created spree offender teams that focus on dealing with retail crime and people who target multiple businesses, as well as working closely with businesses to improve reporting around crimes.
Businesses in Peterborough are also encouraged to take a more active role in tackling retail crime by using the Disc system.
The reporting platform, managed by Peterborough Positive - the city's business improvement district campaign - links with police databases making it quicker and easier for traders to submit reports and share intelligence.
"The more we understand about the issue, the more successful we're likely to be (in tackling retail crime)," Supt Warsop added.
"They're often committed in broad daylight with lots of members of the public around, and I get businesses have had enough of being repeat victims of crime and we do need to make sure we work with them."