A POLICE focus on retail crime saw officers take to the streets and shops of North Yorkshire.

The high-profile police activity was part of Safer Business Action Week, and reflected the force's ongoing work with local businesses all year round.

It included proactive visits to shops, supermarkets and out-of-town retail centres; drop-in sessions encouraging members of the public to sign up to North Yorkshire Community Messaging; and extra high-visibility patrols in busy shopping areas to deter criminals and provide reassurance.

There was also promotion of North Yorkshire Police's new digital evidence management system. Since its launch in July of this year, more than 460 accounts have signed up to the NICE Investigate portal – of which 220 are local businesses.

In total, the system has been used to submit almost 5,000 items of CCTV and other digital evidence. Were it not for NICE Investigate, that evidence would have had to be collected by another means – such as making an appointment to collect a USB stick or DVD.

Chief Inspector Ryan Chapman said: "We understand the significant impact of crimes against retailers and other businesses across York and North Yorkshire. Our Neighbourhood Policing Teams work in very close partnership with businesses all year round, but Safer Business Action Week is an opportunity to focus on the resources we put in to protecting staff, and deterring and disrupting persistent offenders."