SUPERMARKET bosses have joined forces with police to launch a crime crackdown to deter shoplifters.

The scheme will see the East of England Co-op link up with Essex Police in an effort to slash the number of store thefts.

Officers launched the campaign at the Co-op store in Frinton’s Trinagle Shopping Centre on Tuesday.

They will run high profile patrols at the Frinton, Clacton and Holland-on-Sea food stores this week, sharing intelligence with the staff and talking to customers.

Lee Hammond, head of Secure Response Services for the Co-op, said: “Shoplifting is often seen as a victimless crime – but it is not.

“As a co-operative business, we are owned by our members – over 4,000 local people, who each receive a share in our profit based on how much they have spent with us during the year.

“A large proportion of our profit is also used to support local charities, community groups and projects aimed to make our local communities a better place to be.

He added: “With an increase in high value thefts, particularly in Tendring, we have created a dedicated team whose role is to identify patterns and package together evidence to be shared with the police.

“This has resulted in longer sentences for offenders, and allowed us to build stronger links with local police forces across our region.”