Shoplifters to be talk of town as cash for walkie-talkies raised
A Mildenhall police-man, who has spearheaded a drive to wipe out shoplifting in Mildenhall, has raised £2,000 to help shopkeepers in their fight against thieves.
Sgt Peter Ferrie, of the Mildenhall Safer Neigh-bourhood Team, is on target to reach 3,000 needed to fund 10 remote control radios to be used by shop workers to call on the police quickly in the case of a theft.
His efforts come as a three-month crackdown on shoplifting by the team has seen the number of offences nose- dive.
Only five incidents of shoplifting have been recorded in Mildenhall since the launch of Operation Bindweed in March.
Before the crime-busting initiative was introduced, which involved a collaboration between shopkeepers and covert police patrols, 12 shop thefts had been reported this year.
Sgt Ferrie said: "We ran the operation for three months and the results have been absolutely perfect. We're still going to go into the shops regularly and remain in close contact with shopkeepers," he said.
During Operation Bindweed, shopkeepers were given photographs of known offenders in the town, and some were armed with the remote control radios.
Now the team is planning to relaunch Shopwatch and allocate 10 radios to stores in the town.
Around two-thirds of the 3,000 needed for the scheme has been raised with help from the Suffolk Police Authority, Mildenhall Parish Council, Mildenhall Business Association and the Forest Heath Crime Prevention Panel.
Sgt Ferrie's two-year career at Mildenhall is coming to an end as he is moving to become Safer Neighbourhood Team develop-ment manager at police headquarters which involves overseeing the county's 30 Safer Neighbourhood Teams.
"Mildenhall was a lovely place to work, but I'm really glad to be in my new job. The Mildenhall team are still there and working very hard," he said.
Sgt Keith Grant from Brandon Safer Neighbourhood Team, will be taking Sgt Ferrie's place until a full-time replacement is appointed.
Click here to go back to our main news index.
Email to a friend
Print this page
Looking for...
Featured advertisers
Jobs
Search for a job
Motors
Search for a car
Property
Search for a house
Weather for Bury St Edmunds
Thursday 24 May 2012
Today
Sunny
Temperature: 12 C to 25 C
Wind Speed: 13 mph
Wind direction: North east
Tomorrow
Sunny
Temperature: 11 C to 21 C
Wind Speed: 23 mph
Wind direction: East
