As we reported in part one of our interview with Detective Superintendent Luke Baldock, Operation Kelleher saw plain clothes officers surround frequently targeted shops in Orpington and Anerley in order to catch the most persistent offenders red-handed.
Superintendent Baldock said: “We’re starting to spread it across the borough. We’re going to go to Beckenham next and then Bromley town centre.”
He added that he’s not concerned about shoplifters seeing this news and avoiding those areas.
“Quite often we keep our policing operations under wraps, but for want of a better expression if these people sod off and stop shoplifting that’s job done for me. But ultimately these people are going to offend no matter what.”
He explained: “For arguments sake, a restaurant might tell someone ‘go and get us some steaks and we’ll give you £10 for however many’.
“That’s getting someone to commit a crime on your behalf but the buyer probably doesn’t see themselves as a criminal, they probably think it’s just a few joints of meat and I’m struggling to run a business here.
“They’re exploting drug users, people with substance or alcohol abuse issues who are stealing prolifically to fund their habits.
“So we’re now using intelligence to look at those locations who are handling stolen goods – if you take out the handling locations it reduces the incentive to steal.”
