A concerned resident has come forward to give his views regarding the rise of shoplifting in Bracknell town centre. 

Long term resident of Bracknell Andrew Carr, 71, said he has been talking to store owners who are all suffering greatly due to the current epidemic of thieving. 

"They are very careful about what they say but sometime I can see it," Mr Carr said. "The shoplifting is unreal!

"The security guards at The Lexicon do an impossible job. They need to be utterly congratulated and supported because they have responsibility without authority. 

"The police need to help out more because they do have the authority to make arrests and caution."

Mr Carr said he feels that the unofficial warnings that the guards give out to shoplifters is not enough to sway people away from stealing. 

Shoplifting has indeed been on the rise in a number of UK towns and cities, many police units reporting that the amount of reported store thefts has increased. 

Rob Morris, general manager at The Lexicon said that like the rest of the country, The Lexicon has seen an increase in the number of shoplifting offences over the past 12 months.  

The shopping centre is working closely with Thames Valley Police and Bracknell Forest Council to strengthen the measures that can be used to counter this rise in criminal activity.

Mr Morris said "Visitors to The Lexicon over the past six months will have noticed a greater police presence and we have also increased our own security team numbers. 

"In addition, we are working closely with retailers to identify frequent prolific offenders, so that evidence can be presented to Thames Valley Police to secure prosecution and where appropriate a Criminal Behaviour Order to prevent individuals from legally entering The Lexicon."

Mr Carr said that he feels incredibly sorry for the newly appointed ambassadors, a role which Bracknell Forest Council has created to try and tackle anti-social behaviour in the town centre.

The Lexicon's general manager continued to say that the centre's retailers are part of Bracknell Business Against Crime (BBAC), a collaboration between The Lexicon, Thames Valley Police and Bracknell Forest Council, which allows information to be quickly shared between all parties. 

He said "In addition, retailers are equipped with radios to keep in touch on a real time basis, if shoplifters are seen in the town centre.  

"We will continue to work with all interested parties to explore additional measures to endeavour to reduce the number of shoplifting incidents."