Littlehampton hit by 'horrific' shoplifting with shop forced into closure after large groups gather

Paul Wakeland is Littlehampton’s ShopWatch Radio and DISC Administrator. DISC – a system for incident reporting – allows the gathering and sharing of information about criminal activity in the town. This intelligence is shared with Sussex Police so crime reduction actions can be agreed.

Littlehampton Shopwatch joined up with DISC, in 2020, under the umbrella of a Littlehampton Business Crime Reduction Partnership (BCRP) and supported by the traders partnership, which is no longer in operation.

Mr Wakeland said: “We have more than 30 radios out and around the town.

"Businesses have got them to report an incident. If there is support available, someone from another shop will go to their aid.

“We've got an increase of kids hanging around the Sainsbury's area. They have caused it to close a few times. The shoplifting is absolutely horrific.

“Reports of shoplifting are on the up. There are good days, there are really bad days.

"Street drinkers are there and can be a bit noisy at times but are not necessarily breaking the law or committing any offences.

“On the whole, there's not a great feeling around the town. It's not user friendly and very off putting when you see such large groups of people.”

These comments come after an action group – designed to improve Littlehampton town centre – was given the go-ahead by Arun District Council.

The group will act as an advisory body to the council and will include representatives from Littlehampton Town Council, Arun District Council, West Sussex County Council, Sussex Police and local retailers.

The move comes amid heightened concerns over crime and anti-social behaviour in the town.

Mr Wakeland said he has spoken with the councils to ‘voice my opinion and views on how bad the situation is’.

"We really do need some sort of patrolling in the town from about 4pm to 8pm to control these large numbers of children gathering,” he said.

“It's awful and I understand police don't have enough resources and they are short staffed they've known there's been an issue for six months.

"We don't have anything regular in the town. I have suggested that Arun use community protection notices and warnings on the kids. They could get a dispersal order in place but you need someone to enforce it. We've got nothing to enforce the rule of law.”

In a statement last month, Inspector Ross Wickings, of the Arun and Chichester Neighbourhood Policing Team, said: “We are aware of concerns in relation to crime and anti-social behaviour in Littlehampton, and we recognise the impact this can have on local residents and businesses.

“Working with partners including retailers, schools, local authorities, youth groups and the community, our ultimate aim is to ensure the public are safe – and feel safe.”

Arun District Council said a ‘partnership approach’ is being taken to tackle anti-social behaviour in Littlehampton.

A spokesperson added: “Work is actively being undertaken to identify individuals engaging in ASB and other behaviour that causes a nuisance to users of the town centre, with Arun District Council utilising all its available resources and ASB enforcement tools in the most appropriate way.

"Additionally, a Local Action Team has been formed to include district and town council officers, local policing team, drug and alcohol services, youth support providers, and other local stakeholders. Participation is by officers who operate ‘on the ground’ and can identify the issues which need direct action in order to reduce anti-social behaviour.

"Community wardens, jointly funded by the town and district councils, regularly intervene when ASB incidents are witnessed and engage with businesses where concerns are raised.

"They are also carrying out additional foot patrols in the town centre during the times mentioned and have done so jointly with the police over the past couple of weeks.”

Mr Wakeland said the problem doesn’t just lie in Littlehampton as ‘it's everywhere’ but raised concerns that the seaside town is becoming an easy target.

"People can get on the train here to shoplift from Worthing or Brighton because it's easy,” he said. “No one is here to stop it.

“The problem is Littlehampton is a small town and everyone can see it. There isn't an answer until there's proper funding and there's a healthy number of police in Littlehampton.

"There's nothing on a regular basis and it's awful. The ShopWatch radio works for shoplifting but when horrible stuff kicks off with street drinkers and kids, it can happen generally when most of the shops are shut.

"It feels you can't go into the town centre between 4 and 8pm. The only way forward is a zero tolerance policy.

"The town centre needs a business warden or private security company to come in and patrol the town. Somebody here who will put them off doing it. It will cut down shoplifting and anti-social behaviour.”

Sussex Police and Crime Commissioner Katy Bourne gave Arun District Council £50,000 and Mr Wakeland said he would ‘like to see where that money is being spent’.

In response, the council said the money was allocated to the Safer Arun Partnership – formed of Sussex Police, West Sussex Fire and Rescue Service, Arun District Council, the NHS, the Police and Crime Commission ‘and others’.

"This is being used to support local crime reduction initiatives, and the partnership is considering other proactive ways in which it can be used to respond to these issues,” a council spokesperson said.

You can report crime and incidents online at: https://www.disc-net.org/littlehampton or https://www.sussex.police.uk/report-online.