POLICE say CCTV and talking to customers, including asking them to remove hoods or hats, is one of the best ways at deterring shoplifting.
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And, when in doubt, take down details or descriptions of suspicious people or activities, in and outside their shopfronts.
Local businesses are increasingly taking to social media to catch out offenders with hot hands.
Oxley Acting Inspector Matt O’Hehir said keeping records of serial numbers of goods is also a useful way to track stolen goods that are recovered.
On Sunday afternoon, police seized a stolen mountain bike in Barnes Street in Taminda, about 4pm.
”Officers sighted two males riding a pushbike and had cause to stop and talk to those juveniles,” Acting Inspector O’Hehir told The Leader.
The serial number on the mountain bike revealed it was reported stolen from a Marnola Crescent premises in East Tamworth on January 6.
- Oxley Acting Inspector Matt O'Hehir
“Police carried out a number of checks and established the pushbike had been reported stolen.
“The serial number on the mountain bike revealed it was reported stolen from a Marnola Crescent premises in East Tamworth on January 6.
“So tracking of serial numbers, whether that is on warranty papers or receipts, can help to identify those items during the course of police investigations.”
Video or stills of suspected shoplifters have gone viral in Tamworth in recent weeks as businesses appeal for public help to track down stolen goods.
More often than not security surveillance is passed onto police, and investigators want to ensure businesses report thefts or suspicious customers.
Acting Inspector O'Hehir said it helps with police intelligence and to track patterns.
“CCTV and security surveillance from businesses is a very valuable tool in identifying those persons,” he said.
And that sort of information is posted on social media but we would encourage those businesses to report that activity or those incidents to local police and there are a number of different ways that can be done including through the portal or Crime Stoppers.
- Oxley Acting Inspector Matt O'Hehir
“And that sort of information is posted on social media but we would encourage those businesses to report that activity or those incidents to local police and there are a number of different ways that can be done including through the portal or Crime Stoppers.”
The rise of tap’n’go technology, or pay-wave, has contributed to fraud rates, and local police have warned shopkeepers should be wary of people making multiple purchases under the $100 limit in quick succession.