A shop owner in Buckinghamshire said he has had to take measures into his own hands after failure to prosecute recurrent shoplifters.

Darryl Earle, 56, runs the independent model shop Collectables R Us in the Eden Shopping Centre in High Wycombe. 

He spoke to the Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) Matthew Barber today (October 17) about how to tackle shoplifting in Collectables R Us, which he believes is not being sufficiently addressed by the force and is skewed in favour of repeat offenders.

The PCC and the High Wycombe Business Improvement District (BID) are rolling out a new crime reporting system called Disc, which theoretically helps neighbouring businesses collect evidence on shoplifters by uploading CCTV and intelligence, eventually leading to a water-tight prosecution.

It sounds like good news - Darryl is aware of repeat shoplifters who frustratingly can't be brought to justice because the police don't have enough evidence to go on - but Collectables R Us is already using the system and has not seen meaningful results yet. 

The 56-year-old is hopeful that this could change, but only if nearby chain retailers also get involved with evidence-logging.

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"When this kind of thing happens in Poundland and Boots, it just goes to Head Office and prosecution ends up being too much hassle. But it sends the wrong message - we have a sign saying, 'Zero tolerance for shoplifting, we will prosecute you if we catch you' and we need everyone to be doing that.

"We had someone a couple of weeks ago walk into the staff area, pick up a huge box and walk straight out with it.

"There hasn't been a prosecution even though we know who it is - the police want actual video evidence of the person picking something up, putting it in their bag and walking out before they can prosecute.

"It feels like the way these things work is in favour of the shoplifters instead of us, the retailers."

Like other independent shop owners in High Wycombe, Darryl has had to shell out money from his own pocket to pay for security systems - including extra cameras and walkie-talkies - and has recently begun putting photos up of individuals he knows to be shoplifters in the front window of the store. 

"It might get the message out there that they're being watched. We have to take these extra measures, especially going into Christmas which is our busiest time of the year. There will need to be extra staff too, to keep an eye on the door."