‘Afraid’ retailers have been asked to challenge shoplifters by the region’s police and crime commissioner. Matthew Barber addressed councillors at the Thames Valley Police and Crime Panel for Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire on Friday (November 8). Cllr Lubna Arshad enquired about a ‘dedicated hotline’ for retailers, adding: “At the moment, they are quite afraid because of the response times. “I'm really keen that we get that attendance right, but it needs to be attendance for the right things. Mr Barber has funded the free rollout of the app Disc to all retailers in Thames Valley in response to shoplifting.
