Shops brace for crime wave

Town centre bosses are gearing up for a wave of retail crime.

Security bosses say a police crackdown on drug abuse, which has seen many suspected dealers arrested and three drug houses closed, has slashed the amount of heroin, crack and cocaine available on county streets.

They say this could send the price of drugs soaring and tempt addicts into raiding county shops in a bid to raise the extra cash needed for a fix.

Corby town centre manager and chairman of Corby Retail and Business Crime Initiative steering group David Green said, "The price of the commodity will go up and that will lead to a rise in the retail crime sector. But if everyone is prepared, as we are, it will not have such an impact."

Since the operation began about three weeks ago police have arrested 33 people. Of that number 29 have been remanded in custody, three were granted conditional bail by the courts and one was released on police bail.

Chairman of Kettering Borough Crime Initiative Neil Griffin said "The shops are always on their guard for the addicts but these drug raids will have a big effect on users. They may now be more desperate."

But in Wellingborough town centre manager David Cross was confident the Wellingborough Partnership Against Crime could deal with any extra strain on the towns security resources.

Chief Insp. Mark Lacey said, "I have no doubt the laws of supply and demand affect the drugs markets as any other. However, it is spurious to intimate that this will automatically lead to a rise in retail crime and certainly there is no current evidence anywhere on the Northern area to suggest this is the case."