Editorial: IN SHORT, we don’t know. According to police statistics, there are two reported shopliftings every day in Harlow.

The key word here is clearly “reported”.

That could mean that there are indeed, very few incidents of shoplifting going on.

Alternatively, it may be a vote of no confidence in the police. There may be many many shops and shop owners who are not confident that the police will turn up and investigate.

So they just suck it up.

We wouldn’t be submitting this news article to the British Crime Survey as we have too many testimonies that are not fully formed. That’s why this is an editorial piece, inviting reasoned debate.

We get the impression from store managers in the town centre and elsewhere that they would like to see more of a response from the police.

There are also staff at major shopping outlets that think the police won’t attend unless the amount (price) stolen is “substantial”.

We have had a look at the police figures via their website. It look like the number of reported incidents of shoplifting in Harlow is actually going down.

Compare November 2022 (820) with July 2023 (759).

The solve rate is pretty well stuck between 24,1% in Jan 2022 and 38.2% in Feb 2023.

YH now gets a constant stream of press releases from Essex Police’s press team (former journalists and PR folk) who have now ramped up the rhetoric

It is now a constant deluge of specialist detectives, quick-thinking constables etc etc. Many say, quite right. Be proud of what you do. However, with that, may come increased expectation and demands. It is a difficult one to call.

We gave Essex Police an opportunity to respond.

An Essex Police spokesperson: “In the last year we’ve solved 2,400 shoplifting cases, 500 more than last year;

In Harlow, more than 200 shoplifting cases were solved, while we’re also untilising Criminal Behaviour Orders to tackle repeat offenders.

“In Harlow there’s been a drop in shoplifting offences, with 38 fewer reported (down 4.6%)

“We’ve done this by focussing on core, repeat offenders and core locations;

In the last month we’ve made more than 100 shoplifting arrests across the county, including eight in Harlow;

“Every report of shoplifting is investigated, either by the officers or our Resolution centre and we’re following reasonable lines of enquiry.

“Attendance at incidents relies on a number of factors including whether a suspect is still on scene but we are aiming to attend more incidents”.

Table of Theft by Shoplifting

Date	Thefts	Solved	%
July 2023	759	217	28.6
June 2023	727	201	27.6
May 2023	665	196	29.5
April 2023	684	225	32.9
March 2023	718	272	37.9
Feb 2023	748	286	38.2
Jan 2023	767	277	36.1
Dec 2022	792	268	33.8
Nov 2022	820	260	31.7
Oct 2022	821	247	30.1
Sept 2022	810	233	28.8
Aug 2022	794	235	29.6
July 2022	795	240	30.2
June 2022	765	213	27.8
May 2022	699	175	25.0
April 2022	659	158	24.0
March 2022	612	140	22.9
Feb 2022	580	131	22.6
Jan 2022	532	128	24.1
Dec 2021	518	134	25.9
Nov 2021	510	144	28.2
Oct 2021	535	154	28.8
Sept 2021	520	146	28.1

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