Officers arrested a 39-year-old man in the Clifton area on Tuesday (2 May 2023) after extensive work by neighbourhood officers to investigate raids on businesses mainly in Clifton and The Meadows between 11 March and 23 April.

He is also being questioned in connection with reported thefts from motor vehicle offences in the Clifton area, between 4 and 16 April, and an incident where a bank card stolen from a car in Wilford was used fraudulently.

Inspector Steve Dalby, the new man in charge of neighbourhood policing in Nottingham South, said: “We know what an impact shoplifting can have on businesses in our community, which is why I’m pleased we have been able to make this significant arrest.

“Some people think shoplifting is a victimless crime, but this is simply not true. Shop theft has a detrimental financial and emotional impact on local businesses, their employees and on the wider community.

“I want to reassure our local retailers that we will continue to use every tool at our disposal to crack-down on the small number of shoplifters who repeatedly target town centre businesses.

“As part of our ongoing efforts to crack down on retail and vehicle crime we will also be conducting proactive initiatives, including dedicated days of action, to prevent and drive down this kind of criminality.

“We will also consider securing criminal behaviour orders against persistent offenders in order to further protect affected businesses by banning these individuals from entering certain premises and from entering defined areas for a specified period.

“Our hardworking businesses do not deserve to be targeted by thieves and we want to send a very clear message to those engaging in shop theft that we won’t tolerate this, we will catch them, and we will bring them before the court to answer for their crimes.”