Buisness owners in Frome have called for ‘more support’ from the local police following a string of incidents in the town.
At Frome Town Council’s full council last month, business owners said they wanted more support from the police after reporting incidents of shoplifting, drug use and ‘aggressive behaviour’ in the town centre. They claim these reports were never followed up.
In response to a presentation at the meeting by the local police inspector, Rachel Clark, one business owner told the council chamber that traders feel ‘really let down’ by the local police team.
He said, “Since September, I personally have reported six separate incidents, none of which have been followed up by the police service. They haven’t just involved theft; it’s been drug use on the street, on Cheap Street. We also had an incident involving a young girl walking home that we had to assist because she was attacked by two men. All reported, but nothing happened; she didn’t receive an update. There was no community outreach or anything.
“[The incidents] were reported over the telephone. We have also had people doing drugs and stealing from shops, then selling [the goods] for a duration of time at the end of Cheap Street. This happened at the end of September, and even though we reported it multiple times to the police—not just us but other traders—we had one police officer show up. They stayed for five minutes, spoke to the person, and then said they had something else come up in Shepton Mallet so had to leave. [We feel there is] not really the support when reporting things; we don’t feel taken seriously. We are eyes on the ground.”
Another business owner said that before Christmas, two ‘prolific’ shoplifters were spotted stealing goods in the town. He added that shoplifting was not the only problem, as the individuals could also be aggressive when challenged.
“People feel quite frightened at times,” he said. “Even though shop staff know who they are—they know their names—and someone said, ‘Let’s knock on their door and get our stuff back,’ it’s the last thing they want to be doing, but that’s the way it’s going. They also feel, I would judge, that the police don’t react very quickly and are almost not interested.”
Local police inspector Rachel Clark said she would follow up with the business owners about the incidents after the meeting and urged them and the wider community to communicate regularly with the local police.
“I urge you to meet with us, come up to the police station, come and have a chat with us, and we can go through step-by-step reporting,” said Rachel.
She also noted that the local police team had ‘good success’ last year, issuing four criminal behaviour orders to known shoplifters. However, she acknowledged that communication between the police and traders ‘needs to be improved.’
“We do have a dedicated town centre team, and what they said to me is that the level of reporting is not as good as they would like it,” said Rachel. “[Myself] and my team are happy to meet any retailers. The shop watch retail meeting isn’t as well attended as the pub watch. I appreciate that, but how can we get around that? How can you feel heard? We are flexible with our time to come and meet a group of you.”