Shining a spotlight on crime in town centres, Police and Crime Commissioner John Campion is ‘calling time on retail crime’ in West Mercia. 

The next public assurance and accountability session between the PCC and West Mercia Police’s Temporary Chief Constable, Alex Murray is taking place on Monday 29 January.  

As set out in his Safer West Mercia Plan, the PCC is committed to ensuring West Mercia Police is using effective problem-solving approaches, working with partners and local communities to prevent, solve and reduce crime. 

The session will be an opportunity for business owners, retail workers and residents to submit questions and get them answered by the T/CC. 

It will cover themes including shoplifting, assaults on shopworkers, feelings of safety in town centres, contact with West Mercia Police, and visibility and accessibility of police officers. 

To capture questions across the three counties, there are a few ways they can be sent in simply and easily before 12pm on Wednesday 24 January: Posting a comment under relevant posts or sending a direct message to any of the PCC’s social media channels on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram or LinkedIn (@westmerciapcc), emailing [email protected] or responding to the Neighbourhood Matters email, sent by the PCC to subscribers on the platform. 

Police and Crime Commissioner John Campion said: “Retail crime has significantly increased over the past six months, both nationally and in West Mercia, mainly driven by shoplifting. A regular feature in national media, I have also seen a rise of public correspondence into my office on this issue. 

“As your voice in policing, I am committed to ensuring crime doesn’t pay. The meeting will be an opportunity for the Temporary Chief Constable to address your concerns and reassure communities about the work taking place to tackle retail crime, take offenders off our streets and protect businesses.” 

The session will be filmed and made available following the meeting.