'Prolific shoplifters' caught in Dunstable thanks to teamwork between police and CCTV operators

Two “prolific shoplifters” have been caught in Dunstable after swift action by Central Bedfordshire Council and Bedfordshire Police.

A man and a woman were arrested on February 1 after the council’s CCTV team identified them as being wanted for breaching their Criminal Behaviour Orders (CBO).

The police said: “Two arrests were made on Thursday last week (1 February) of a man and a woman who were identified on CCTV as being wanted for breaching their Criminal Behaviour Orders (CBO) when stealing items from a shop on Broadwalk, Dunstable in January.

“Staff in the shops are able to easily identify them thanks to the CBO which makes it a lot harder for individuals to reoffend.”

In a Facebook post, Central Bedfordshire Council said: “Last week, our collaborative efforts led to the apprehension of two prolific shoplifters who had outstanding warrants for two prior breaches of their Criminal Behaviour Orders, along with additional theft offences.

"The incident commenced at a shop in the Quadrant Shopping Centre, Dunstable, whereby the staff contacted our CCTV Team via the retail radio and made us aware of two individuals who had just stolen property. A CCTV officer promptly reported the situation to Bedfordshire Police’s Call Handling Centre and began monitoring the movements of the suspects around the town centre.

"Our CCTV team played a pivotal role by providing real-time locations, facilitating the swift and effective apprehension of both individuals by the police.”

Upon their arrest, one of the offenders was found to be concealing a “significant amount of stolen merchandise within their coat”, while the second individual taken into custody was “found in possession of Class A drugs”.

Sergeant Slav Konopka, from Bedfordshire Police’s Dunstable’s community policing team, said: “Bedfordshire Police work closely with all our local councils who not only assist with the monitoring of CCTV, but also work alongside our community officers every day on joint patrols and to protect vulnerable people.

“The force is working across the county to crack down on shoplifting by arresting prolific offenders and working to issue them with CBOs to break the cycle of criminality associated with theft from shops.”