Chesham business owners and locals on shoplifting

Their opinions were expressed at the back end of August when a handful of locals spoke about the rise in anti-social behaviour on the very popular OurChesham Facebook page.

Many have suggested that the town has become ‘unsafe’ due to reckless driving along St Mary’s Way, along with violent attacks and shoplifting on the High Street.

This comes after data given to the Free Press back in the spring revealed that 1,441 separate crimes were reported in the town between 2022 and 2023.

Most of them were related to violence, sexual offences and incidents related to vehicles.

Many people frequently use Chesham High Street as a meet-up place, or to shop (Image: NQ)

We ventured into the centre of Chesham on September 5 to speak to those who live or work in the area.

One resident, Mary, who has lived in the town for 23 years, told the Free Press about how those committing the crimes sometimes target charity shops.

The frequent second-hand shopper said: “Crime in charity shops does have an impact as they come in and they put new clothes on top of their old clothes.

“Hence why the changing rooms have been closed in some shops as they come in and take stuff.

“I’ve witnessed this and they’ve taken donations that have been left outside.

“I feel sorry for the volunteers that work in these shops as they put in the hours, unpaid.

"It’s sad for them and it’s sad for the charity as they’re losing out.

“It’s very unfortunate and I think this is a common thing.

“Shoplifting is rife in Chesham.”

However, despite her concerns, she believes that the town ‘has a lot to offer’ and that there are ‘many lovely things’ in the area.

She continued: “I feel safe in Chesham as I’ve lived here for over 20 years, but I am aware of the issues that have happened in the town in recent months.

“I do believe that the town has gone downhill in the years that I have lived here, but you get that everywhere.

"So I won’t stand and slate Chesham as I do think this is a lovely town.

“We’ve got the train station, we’ve got lovely restaurants and we’ve got the football team that has done so well recently.

“There are many lovely things in Chesham.”

Dale Tames, who owns the very popular store Collector’s Paradise since 1998, also expressed his concerns about the increase in crime, but admitted that his shop has not been impacted by the sudden rise of anti-social behaviour 

Dale Tames has been trading in Chesham since 1998 (Image: NQ)

He said: “A lot of it is caused because there is less of a police force around here and it needs addressing.

“I’ve heard that there have been several attacks in Chesham recently, there have been people exposing themselves which is crazy, kids have been attacking kids, but thankfully, no-one has stolen from my shop recently.

“If anyone does steal, my customers will humiliate them.

“That’s the best deterrent, to embarrass them, and if they get humiliated, they don’t come back.

“Touchwood, I haven’t had anything stolen recently.

“Chesham shouldn’t be like that.”