Officers tackle retail crime over the festive period in month-long joint operation

Operation Watchmaker was launched by officers from the Western Problem-Solving Team, with support from the Area Investigation, Response and Beat Teams, to directly tackle retail crime, focusing on prolific offenders who frequently cause misery and disruption to local businesses.

Running from 1 December to 31 December, officers worked alongside representatives from the Chester and Ellesmere Port Business Crime Reduction Partnerships focusing their attention on retail crime in Chester city centre, Cheshire Oaks and several retail outlets in Ellesmere Port.

Plain-clothes officers were deployed in shops and their surrounding areas during the operation, with multiple offenders being caught red-handed.

On day one, officers hit the ground running with the arrest of a woman by Chester Response officers after she was detained by staff at the Cotswold Outdoor shop in Chester, having been observed de-tagging items of clothing worth over £360. She was subsequently taken into custody for the offence and was also spoken to regarding an outstanding matter that had occurred earlier in December, where she was alleged to have taken £130 worth of items from a pet food shop in Ellesmere Port.

She was remanded in custody and appeared in court the following day where she was found guilty on both charges and handed an eight-week suspended prison sentence, a Drug Rehabilitation Requirement and ordered to pay £100 in compensation.

On 5 December, a man who had attempted to steal over £1,060 worth of clothing and perfume from four shops in the city centre was arrested. The man has since been released on conditional bail, and all items have been recovered and returned to their respective shops.

On 9 December, when patrolling in the city, Western Problem-Solving officers observed an individual who was selecting items from a shop and leaving without paying. They were detained by the officers and issued with a Community Resolution.

Furthermore, on 23 December an offender who was linked to a £346 theft from a shop at Chester Retail Park in April and had since fled the country was arrested by officers upon his return to the UK.

He was handed a Community Resolution by the Area Investigation Team.

In total, over the month of December, officers dealt with a total of 33 individuals, securing a total of 32 charges against 18 of them, of those:

• Five individuals have been bailed for further enquiries with investigations still ongoing
• Eight individuals were remanded and have already appeared in court
• Eight individuals were issued with Community Resolutions
• Ten individuals have been bailed to appear in court throughout January 2025

Inspector Scott Fletcher, of Western Response, said:

"We know that shoplifting and retail crime are topical issues that are seen nationwide, which is why we decided to launch Operation Watchmaker over the most recent festive period - one of the busiest times for shopping in the year- in both Ellesmere Port and the city centre.

"Yet this is not just an operation we run over Christmas; tackling retail crime and safeguarding our local business owners is part of the Constabulary's day-to-day operations. 

"With that in mind, I would like to thank our officers from the various Western teams that helped us pull off this operation successfully, as well as the team from Chester and Ellesmere Port Business Crime Reduction Partnerships who helped us liaise with local retailers and secure a number of arrests and vital charges.

"The results do speak for themselves. As demonstrated in the case of one perpetrator who fled the county and later returned thinking they had got away with their crimes scot-free, we take retail crime very seriously in Cheshire and will leave no stone unturned in securing justice.”