More than 50 arrests made in Welwyn Hatfield shoplifting operation

More than 50 arrests have been made so far as part of Op Hornet, an operation to tackle shoplifting in Welwyn Hatfield.

Operation Hornet sees increased patrols aiming to deter shoplifting, arrest offenders and reassure local businesses. The majority of the patrols are undercover.

The operation has been running since the start of December to target the busy, festive season and will finish at the end of January.

As of Thursday 15 January, the Welwyn Hatfield Neighbourhood Policing Team (NPT) have achieved the following:

The operation is in addition to the countywide ‘Winter of Action’ initiative, which is helping to keep town centres in Hertfordshire safe this winter. 

Throughout December and into the new year, NPTs have had an increased presence in town centres and retail areas, targeting crime and anti-social behaviour (ASB). The Winter of Action follows on from the successful Safer Town Centre campaign last summer which tackled retail and street crime. The winter initiative includes an additional focus on violence against women and girls.

Welwyn Hatfield NPT Inspector Amy Sheldon said: “I hope this news is reassuring to residents and the local business community. Shoplifting and retail crime has far reaching consequences, destroying businesses and making things difficult for the innocent shop staff who are trying to go about their normal working day. 

“Shoplifting can often be linked to other crime so operations to tackle it are vital to keeping our communities safe. Where we identify shoplifters who we believe are vulnerable, they are signposted to support services so that we can get them help.

“There’s still two more weeks left of our operation and we look forward to sharing the final results.”