POLICE have raised concerns about the number of offences of shoplifting in Penarth.

Sergeant Ioan Jones, speaking during a Penarth Town Council meeting last night (April 30), said that police had been trawling through CCTV footage in a bid to catch suspects in connection with a number of offences committed in February and March.

He said that the number of cases of shoplifting, categorised as ‘other theft’, had fallen from 16 to 12 between February and March, but that the issue was “still a concern” for local police.

Sgt Jones was addressing Penarth town councillors during a briefing on police matters and crime figures in the area over the last two months.

He said that there had been a decrease in burglaries in Penarth, from four in February to three in March, but that the number was “still three too many”. The number of offences classified as ‘burglary other’ had also fallen from four in February to two in March.

He added that the number of offences of criminal damage had increased from seven in February to 11 in March.

Overall the total number of crimes committed in Penarth has fallen from 64 in February to 52 in March.

The report showed the most common crime was ‘violence against the person’, with 21 in February and 15 in March.

The majority of crimes were committed in the St Augustine’s ward, with 28 in February and 27 in March.

During the briefing Sgt Jones added that police were also considering setting up a "community messaging event” in the town centre advertising community events such as PACT meetings. Cllr Neil Thomas, who was chairing the committee meeting, said that the town council had considered a “community message and council board” being put up somewhere near the St Fagans pub in the town centre but that initial discussions had come to nothing practical so far.