Spa town fights back as wave of shoplifting gangs hits its streets

Business owners across the Harrogate district are being given additional support as criminals travel more than 60 miles to carry out crimes that are costing stores tens of thousands of pounds every year.

Harrogate has emerged as a prime target for criminal gangs who have taken advantage of the nearby A1 and M62 and travelled from as far afield as Teesside and South Yorkshire as well as Leeds, Bradford and York.

It is understood that many criminals have opted to switch their attention to Harrogate in the belief that stores are not as well protected as shops in major cities throughout the region.

The district's other major shopping destinations including Ripon and Knaresborough have also been blighted.

The thieves even take young children along in an attempt to merge in with crowds of shoppers as well as employing push-chairs and prams to hide stolen goods. However, a major drive is underway to step up security and provide closer links between shops to pinpoint known offenders and collect evidence.

Harrogate Council Head of Public Protection Nicky Garside said: "We are aware that there are organised criminals are travelling significant distances to target shops in Harrogate and the surrounding district.

"They may misguidedly think that they can slip under the radar in the Harrogate district, but we are doing everything we can to make sure that this does not happen.

"We certainly do not want the Harrogate district to be seen as a soft target, and we will do all we can along with business owners and the police to track down offenders and bring them before the courts."

The move to step up the fight against retail crime has been launched to help businesses which are continuing to struggle financially in the wake of the recession. Research is under way to establish the exact cost of offences such as shoplifting and burglaries of firms in the Harrogate district.

A network of more than 150 closed circuit TV cameras across Harrogate, Knaresborough, Ripon and Boroughbridge has been upgraded from analogue to digital technology to provide far clearer images.

And a Radiolink scheme – launched in 1998 to give businesses the chance to pass on information about suspicious activity – has had a 28,000 revamp with new handsets and a computer database.

A new post has been created for a CCTV Radiolink co-ordinator to provide shops, licensed premises and other businesses in the scheme with a first point of contact for help in the fight against crime.

Patrick Byrne, who owns a hair salon in Harrogate, has been appointed CCTV co-ordinator and will gather information on crimes or known shoplifters before sharing details with shop managers and licensees.

Armed with that intelligence, Radiolink's 77 members can put measures in place to protect themselves from falling victim to crimes included organised shoplifting or alcohol-fuelled violence. Mr Byrne will work three days a week with North Yorkshire Police officers and Radiolink members in Harrogate, Knaresborough and Ripon.

Chairman of the Harrogate District Community Safety Partnership Coun Les Ellington said: "Helping our businesses to reduce crime, particularly in these difficult economic times, is very important to the partnership. The improvements we have already seen to our CCTV Radiolink scheme this year have already seen results in having offenders caught on camera and arrested."