(2) what steps his Department is taking to reduce shoplifting in retail stores;
(3) how many people were (a) arrested and (b) convicted for shoplifting in the South Wales police area in each of the last two years.
Most recent figures held by the Office for Criminal Justice Reform on the number of defendants found guilty of shoplifting in the South Wales police force area in 2003 and 2004 are 1,671 for 2003 and 1,712 in 2004. The information requested on arrests is not available centrally. There are a number of ways in which private security offices may engage with local police forces. Usually this is through active involvement with crime reduction partnerships, many of which are tailored specifically to address the needs of the business sector. The Home Office has supported the work of the British Retail Consortium in developing business crime reduction partnerships, and has provided over £900,000 of funding for them to set up and run the Action Against Business Crime (AABC) Group. This group provides central co-ordination and support for a national network of business crime reduction partnerships in town centres, shopping centres and industrial estates across England and Wales in their work to prevent business crime. The Home Office also encourages businesses to set up ‘Business Watch’ schemes in their area, or to consider involvement in the business improvement district (BID) scheme. There is an accredited Business Crime Partnership in the ‘Safer Swansea’ Community Safety Partnership. One of the first actions of the partnership was to set up a panel which included local businesses and independent members to consider whether those caught shoplifting should be banned from the city centre shopping area. The scheme has been successful and will be rolled out to other retail sites in the borough. Additionally, South Wales police have been actively promoting the ShopWatch scheme in Swansea, which encourages shop staff to train as special constables in their area of employment.