Shopkeeper tracks down Jellycat thief but police fail to make arrest

Groves Garden Centre

A frustrated shopkeeper has criticised police for failing to arrest a thief who stole Jellycat toys from his garden centre, even after he tracked her down and gave officers the details.

Charlie Groves said he handed over “clear” CCTV of the incident, which shows the shoplifter putting the items in a pram carrying her child, and the number plate of her vehicle. However, police have not yet made an arrest.

The 46-year-old, who runs a garden centre in Bridport, Dorset, realised that the £400 haul of Jellycat toys had been taken, including a hedgehog worth £59.

After watching the store’s security footage, he linked the woman’s personalised number plate to a social media account and found the toy being sold on her husband’s Vinted account.

Despite reporting the incident to Dorset Police a week after the theft on Oct 1, he has still heard nothing.

‘Enquiries ongoing’

The force has since confirmed that “further enquiries are ongoing” but no arrests have been made.

Mr Groves said he had to carry out his own “detective work” by searching on sites such as Facebook and eBay for the stolen toys.

He was able to work out her identity by deciphering her personalised number plate and looking at resale websites.

He said: “We went to the police with all of the CCTV and the number plates and we haven’t heard anything back from them unfortunately. It’s frustrating.”

Mr Groves said after logging the incident online, he received a letter several weeks later asking for a written statement, but no officers came in person.

He was told that he could not include the details that he had for the suspect’s name and address because he didn’t “know” them for sure.

Asked whether the police were doing enough, Mr Groves said: “I don’t think so.

“I know they are under-resourced, I understand for every petty crime there’s limited time, but this was £400 worth of stuff.

“She knew what she was doing, she is obviously a serial shoplifter.

“We can’t give the police much more information – we gave them number plates, description and clear CCTV.

“We have given them everything and handed it to them on a plate. You would have thought that they had enough.”

Mr Groves said the latest example of shoplifting left him feeling “powerless” because he had already invested in CCTV and security guards.

He added: “There’s not much more we can do as a shop.”

He said responsibility must be shared by police and the website selling the stolen goods.

Dorset Police confirmed that they received a report of stolen goods on Oct 7 but because there was “no immediate threat, risk or harm” Mr Groves was sent a “theft pack” to complete.

A spokesman for the force said: “The investigation is being progressed with proportionate lines of inquiry being carried out.

“CCTV footage of the incident has been obtained and reviewed and further inquiries are ongoing, including liaising with neighbouring forces.”

Ch Insp Alyssa Forrest of Dorset Police said: “We recognise the significant impact that shoplifting has on a business and we will ensure that the victim is informed as the investigation continues with any significant updates.”

Paddy Lillis, the general secretary of the Union of Shop, Distributive and Allied Workers, said the Government needed to do more to tackling shoplifting.

He added: “We now look forward to a much-needed protection of shop workers’ law, ending the indefensible £200 threshold for prosecuting shoplifters, which has effectively become an open invitation to retail criminals, and funding for more uniformed officer patrols in shopping areas, along with respect orders for repeat offenders.”

Vinted was contacted for comment.