UPDATE: So, a very long, busy shift for New Milton NPT on Saturday (…we saw the sunset and the sunrise).

Right from the off, the New Milton beat team were out looking for two suspected shoplifters following a report that they had just targeted one of the stores in the town. While carrying out an area search for them we received another report of a shoplifting incident, whereby a large quantity of good had been stolen.

Using her intuition, PC Appleby started conducting an area search away from the town centre and located a man matching the description of the suspect for the second shoplifting incident on Jowitt Drive. Liaising directly with the store, the man was identified as a potential suspect and arrested on suspicion of shoplifting. Other officers from New Milton NPT and a colleague from Lyndhurst DPT turned up to assist.

En route to custody, PC Evans and PC Appleby spotted two suspects for the first shoplifting - reported to us earlier that day - walking along Gore Road towards Walkford. PC Evans jumped out of the van and arrested both men on suspicion of shoplifting, one of whom was a potential suspect for two other shopliftings in the town that had occurred over the course of the last eight days. 

Upon seeing PC Evans getting out of the van, the other man had taken a carrier bag containing the alleged stolen goods from his friend and attempted to hide it in a neighbouring garden, but he had been spotted by officers and the goods located, with security tags still on intact.

Two men have since been charged with offences in relation to the incidents above (more on this later!) while a third man was given a Community Resolution disposal for handling stolen goods.

Yet, we weren’t finished there. After taking all three men to custody, the team had to work on a time-critical case file for another suspect for several investigations that we had, who was in another custody centre.

As a result of lots of quick typing, another man was charged with a number of offences in the New Milton area in recent weeks – again, more on this later. 

We know we haven’t publicised very much about the work that we do here at New Milton NPT lately but rest assured, the team work incredibly hard and are frequently off late due to the work that we deal with. Most of the suspects that the team deal with are repeat offenders and therefore we will look to robustly prosecute them through the courts. 

This therefore results in case files, which take several hours to complete (even for a simple shoplifting offence caught on CCTV). For those who may be ex-job, the days of completing a prosecution file in less than hour are long gone. 

And it isn’t just shoplifting incidents that the team have been dealing with. We deal with a wide variety of incidents, from neighbour disputes to burglaries and serious assaults, whilst trying to get out and about, providing the visible presence in the town that we know residents love to see us doing.

We read all the reports that are made for the town and wider area, so if you see something that doesn’t seem right, such as a suspicious person or vehicle, please take the time to report to us using either 101 or the online incident reporting page on the Hampshire & Isle of Wight Constabulary website.

And finally, thank you to all the members of the public who take the time to report to us the name of suspects in our press appeals. Your assistance is greatly appreciated in helping the team robustly deal with offenders who visit the town to commit crime.

PS 22223 Wood

*NPT – Neighbourhood Policing Team
*DPT – District Policing Team