'We are working hard to stop town centre burglaries' says Inspector Danielle Booth

During the recent spate in Colchester more than 20 premises have been targeted by raiders which has caused huge loss and inconvenience for shop owners.

The majority of the burglaries have been unsophisticated smash and grab raids.

But officers believe they have slowed down the offending and have made four key arrests with one woman being charged in connection with a burglary at outdoor wear store Millets in High Street.

Community inspector Danielle Booth said her team had been working on a specific initiative called Operation Ohio in a bid to catch the culprits and moved to tell businesses halting the rise in offences was crucial to her team and apprehending those responsible.

She said: “This is a definite priority for us at the moment.

“I recognise the disruption, inconvenience and financial cost these sort of incidents can cause and the majority of shops have been independents.

“We are linking in with COLBAC – Colchester Businesses Against Crime - and they have offered us their support.”

Insp Booth also called on businesses to be vigilant of anyone who comes into their store and is acting suspiciously.

She said: “I appreciate they are trying to run a business and the onus is not on them to catch criminals but it would be very rare for somebody to break into a shop without doing any kind of preparation.

“If anyone comes in and seems to be checking for alarms or CCTV it would be helpful for us to have that information.

“We all have a part to play.

“Apart from Friday and Saturday nights, the town centre will be quiet in the early hours of the morning.

“We would be keen to hear about any suspicious behaviour which might help with our investigations.”

Insp Booth urged anyone with any kind of information or intelligence on the burglaries to email the Colchester Community Policing Team on colchestercpt@essex.pnn.police.uk.

Crimes cannot be reported at that address but officers monitor it daily.