00:00Everyone has seen it but no one is raising their voice. On this whole road,
00:04like you know if you see on Del's Road, there are three shops which is our shop,
00:08Laundice and Co-op. If you ask them personally they will just say like yes
00:12we have feel the same thing what I have felt. This shopkeeper says that
00:18shoplifting has become a constant problem at a store during the summer.
00:22Although this shop has eight CCTV cameras dotted around the store that
00:26doesn't seem to be enough of a deterrent to stop the children from
00:29stealing ice cream and sweets. The owners here have been here for 15 years and
00:35they say the problem is continuing to get worse and there's no solution put in
00:38place to prevent it from happening. Every year they come, every year they you know
00:44try to steal chocolates and you know sweets like you know so which gives a
00:51deep impact on our business because we are family-run small business. Basically
00:55it started on 17th of July and that was on afternoon when my dad was here
01:00present and that happened three o'clock and all of a sudden like a group of
01:06kids which is like eight to ten kids come in my shop and started nicking my
01:13sweets and lollies and all like you know which is unfair to us like you know. While
01:18luxury items like ice cream and sweets are being taken, essential items like laundry
01:23detergent is also a target and he says he wants to see more action from the police.
01:28No they didn't they didn't came instantly they have just given me a reference crime
01:34reference number and they're just given an online portal which you which you're
01:38going to fill your forms details initially and after filling that details they're
01:43going to make a crime investigation like you know but police didn't came
01:46straight down. In a statement Kemp police said that when the business owner
01:50reported the incidents he was requested to submit relevant CCTV footage via an
01:56online portal to assist identifying the suspects. Officers have since visited the
02:01store, spoken to the victim and inquiries are underway in the local area. We are
02:06determined to tackle retail crime in Medway and will pursue all available lines
02:11of inquiry to track down offenders and bring them to justice. Small items being
02:16stolen from a local shop may not seem like much of an issue but when it keeps
02:21happening over and over it can affect local high streets on a wider scale by
02:26affecting operating costs, forcing stores to close or making a community less
02:31welcoming. Kristen Hawthorne for KMTV in Rochester.
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