High Street traders in Wickford are to be given special training to combat shoplifters operating in the town.

Wickford town centre is regularly targeted by criminals, but police hope they can make it as unattractive as possible to shoplifters by helping shops take action.

Crime prevention officer, Pc Colin Mead, said: "We are getting all the traders together to talk with them about the problems of retail crime and what precautions people can take. We will be telling traders what they should look for and the methods used by shoplifters.

"There are simple measures people can take, such as repositioning valuable stock, which can make it more difficult for these criminals to operate and we will highlight these."

Wickford's community liaison officer, Pc Geoff Whiter, said: "This is something we felt would be a good idea to organise to complement the pager system which is now operating in the town centre.

"There are 18 shops signed up to the scheme, but many businesses - especially the smaller shops - do not have specific training on retail crime.

"Since the pager system got up and running the situation is a lot better. We have had several successes as a result of the pagers, but we still want shops working together as effectively as possible."

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