A number of localised anti-retail crime operations have been scheduled for 2010, part-funded by Heart of London Business Alliance.

Our West End & Chinatown Safer Neighbourhood Team focus on key retail premises within the area.  Police officers liaise with doorstaff and security at individual premises and work with the Heart of London City Guardians as a larger uniformed presence.

A four-day operation in Piccadilly Circus and Coventry Street in May 2010 resulted in:

• 8 retail-crime related arrests
• 1 person arrested for possession of drugs
• 2 other drugs offences detected
• 28 people stopped and searched

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Retail crime operations also took place during January and February 2010.  Positive feedback was received by the retail sector, which is being collated to show the value of such initiatives funded by Heart of London Business Alliance.

Pick-pocketing and bag theft continues to be a concern across the Westminster area as a whole.  Heart of London Business Alliance funded an operation for a dedicated team of officers specialising in catching bag thieves using decoy tactics.  As a result of this operation, there were 3 arrests of bag thieves and 14 stops of individuals suspected of bag theft.  The resulting figures show that compared to the same period in 2008, there was a 15% reduction in pick-pocketing and 17% reduction in related offences such as bag thefts.

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The West End & China Town Safer Neighbourhood Team consider these operations very useful and productive, and we have received similar positive feedback from the retail sector.  Dates have been set for further operations.