A BUSINESS owner has demanded a clampdown by police on shoplifting after saying he has repeatedly seen no action. 

Managing director of Trove, Mark Battistini, 58, has called on police to respond better to shoplifting incidents in the BCP area after his stores in Bournemouth and Christchurch have continued to be victims of repeated shoplifting offenders. 

In a recent incident on April 19 at 1pm at his Christchurch store, the offender was said to have stolen £300 worth of items and is reportedly well-known for stealing from stores in the area. 

Mark said: "The store is full of individual sellers who all rent a space and one of the sellers noted they were missing £300 worth of items. 

"We checked back through the CCTV and saw this lady load these things up and walk to the front, saw someone on the till, walk back put it in a bag, make conversation with the till person and walk out.

"The jewellers in the arcade in Christchurch had the same women go in and steal bracelets."

Mark staid police have taken little action towards arresting her or other known shoplifters. 

Mark noted two incidents in which school children tried to steal £300 worth of necklaces and another occasion when another group of kids smashed the fire alarm and kicked over a barrier. 

He said: "I had a couple of schoolboys steal £300 worth of necklaces, I phoned police and nobody turned up. I phoned their parents who collected them but I had three staff members wasting time watching these kids for three hours. 

"I come into Bournemouth and I say to my wife 'let's get ready for war' because I'm constantly fighting shoplifters."

Thankful for the help Bournemouth Rangers offer, Mark has called upon police to do more to help shops stating refusal of entry doesn't stop them because 'they know if they don't steal today, they will tomorrow.'

A spokesperson for Dorset Police said: “The Bournemouth Neighbourhood Policing Team (NPT) fully appreciates the harmful impact that shoplifting has on business owners in the town. We are committed to targeting shoplifting offenders and bringing them before the courts to receive justice.

“Op Shopkeeper targets prolific shoplifters who are causing the most harm in our communities via theft. People who are perpetrating business crimes can expect to be dealt with robustly, with potential banning orders and civil orders, on top of criminal convictions. By working together, we can help reduce the cost and blight of theft on our communities.

“We would strongly urge business owners, residents and visitors to the town who witness suspected shoplifting offences to report it to us as soon as possible.”