Between Monday 10 November and Sunday 16 November 2025, Police patrols visited high streets and shopping centres in Gravesham, Dartford, Medway and Swale combatting retail crime as part of the force’s Safer Businesses Week and speaking to shop owners, assessing their concerns and offering crime prevention advice.
Whilst engaged on the visits, the constables also took the opportunity to proactively arrest multiple suspected shoplifters.
On Wednesday 12 November, a man was detained at Sittingbourne Retail Park as he was wanted for failing to appear at court in connection with four theft charges. On the same day, a suspected thief was arrested at his address where a knuckleduster was also seized. The 44 year-old man from Sheerness was later charged with four counts of theft and possession of an offensive weapon.
In total, officers across north Kent made 38 arrests and charged 26 people over the course of Safer Businesses Week relating to shoplifting, robbery and criminal damage to commercial properties.
Superintendent Matthew Burbeck said:
‘Safer Businesses Week is always a good opportunity for us to connect with staff, managers and owners across the region while renewing our focus on commerce-related crime prevention.
‘A key part of our role is to ensure everyone feels safe and we had excellent feedback from our officers’ visits. We also had great arrest and charge results, which shows the force’s proactivity when tackling retail crimes.’