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Dear Resident,
You are receiving this message as you have registered an interest in business watch or are in a business group on WMNow.
I thought you may be interested to know that as part of Operation Advance last week, officers from our Offending 2 Recovery team have been out visiting Wolverhampton businesses to reduce shop crime.
They've been telling as many shopkeepers as they can about a new scheme and asking them to share information about thieves who visit their store.
Offending 2 Recovery is an award-winning programme, develop by our officers and funded by the West Midlands Police & Crime Commissioner, and businesses including the Co-Op and Next.
Our O2R team help identify addicts who are turning to crime to fund their addiction and get them into rehabilitation. They work drug and alcohol rehab specialists and community volunteers.
Following a successful trial in Birmingham, Offending 2 Recovery has now expanded into Wolverhampton. In just one month, we have referred 107 people into the city's scheme.
Taking part in O2R is often described as the toughest thing people have had to go through. It is not a ‘soft option’ and is in addition to any criminal action we take. It is not a replacement for court, fines, community orders or jail.
The programme aims to rehabilitate people who commit retail crime to fund their addiction, keeping shop staff safe and defunding drug dealers.
Since 2021, 136 people have been referred to the programme and many have been successfully rehabilitated. As well as facing up to their crimes by listening to shop staff talk about the impact their offending had, many now patrol with officers and talk to addicts to encourage them to transform their lives too. AS part of their rehabilitation, they also offer business crime prevention advice.
The average person we refer into rehabilitation uses £1,000 a week on drugs, meaning they are stealing around £3,000 worth of goods to fund this addiction each week. That’s an enormous £144,000 per person each year.
PC Matt Kidson from the Wolverhampton Offender Management Team is visiting retailers in the city today as part of our Op Advance day of action. He is in regular contact with many shops to raise awareness of the referral programme and is cracking down on shoplifting in Wolverhampton.
Please download and print the attached posters which have been designed for staff rooms and manager offices.
If you would like hard copies of the posters, postcards for your staff room, or to refer someone you know into recovery, email: o2rwolverhampton@westmidlands.police.uk
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