Hampshire PCC quizzed on shoplifting and burglaries
BBCVan break-ins are not being investigated properly, a business owner has told the Hampshire and Isle of Wight police and crime commissioner (PCC).
David Canty runs a security services company in Ringwood and told Donna Jones, during a question and answer session on BBC Radio Solent: "An officer might come out but all they do is give you a reference for insurance. The police just aren't interested in following up any evidence we have."
He said he had experienced 25 vans being vandalised in one night with tools stolen and £4,000 worth of damage to each vehicle.
"If there are lines of enquiry to follow, the chief constable has agreed with me they will be followed up," Ms Jones responded.
Ms Jones was also asked by Karen, from Ringwood, about shoplifting, on the day a survey from the British Retail Consortium found almost a quarter of the UK population had witnessed the crime in the last 12 months.
In Southampton, the figure was even higher at 28%.
The PCC said she had encouraged the creation of "town centre teams", which meant officers were visibly walking up and down high streets.
She said there had not been a massive spike in incidents but shopkeepers and managers were reporting shoplifting again, now police were responding.
She also said many of those who shoplift have an addiction, and drug testing on arrival at police stations was now standard so people could be linked up with specialist support workers.
"Report, report, report", was her mantra so police could get a clear picture of the exact places criminals were targeting.
Andrew, 62, from the Isle of Wight, told the phone-in he was head-butted by a woman two weeks ago and said he had not heard from officers despite reporting the crime immediately.
Ms Jones told Andrew it was likely done to the "sheer volume of work" for detectives.
She said there was a recruitment campaign under way to recruit more officers but she reminded listeners she was there to hold the police to account on behalf of people like Andrew, and vowed to chase it up.
Conservative Ms Jones has been police and crime commissioner since 2021 and has announced her wish to be mayor of the strategic authority for Hampshire and the Solent region.
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