28/11/2011 East Midlands Today

This is East Midlands Today with Anne Davies and me, Dominic Heale.

Our top story tonight - 26 shoplifting days till Christmas.

Police make thousands of address but good the stores themselves do

more to stop shoplifting? If you continue to put the plasma screens

at the front of the store, then you wonder why people walk out of them.

Also tonight: I promise never to keep quiet about domestic violence.

A score wins a prize for work on domestic violence in the home.

Can Naughton keep up with customers? It has overwhelmed as

somewhat. The am looking for rain, the racecourse with the ground to

dry for jumping. Welcome to Monday's programme. A

day which, according to some estimates, is the busiest of the

year for online shopping. Thousands of purchases per minute, at the

click of a mouse. And the high street is not far behind. Christmas

lights, ice rinks, Santa's grottoes, all are designed to entice more and

more shoppers into our towns and cities. However, for the high

street, there is a significant downside. Thieving. Figures

obtained by East Midlands today reveal that more than 300

shoplifters are being reported to the region's police forces every

week. Victoria Hicks is at Fenwick's in Leicester to see what

the shops are doing to stop their goods vanishing. The evening. Good

evening. One of theft per minute, that is how big the problem is, and

it is costing retailers billions of pounds per year. What is the top of

the shoplifters' Christmas list this year? It is perfume. Last week

one offender was caught with 1,500 pounds worth of perfumes death in a

bag. She was caught on CCTV and is being process through the courts.

With me is Nicola Woods from Leicestershire Police. What are the

police doing to protect retailers? We have just launched an operation

at with more officers on the streets patrolling and plainclothes

officers around the stores. centre for research suggests the

figure for shoplifting is higher than the reported crimes suggest.

Why isn't shoplifting more of a priority for the police? It is a

high priority for us. We work with youth offending the service

Citywatch and that is around first time a young offenders, when they

are caught we are informing the parents and teaching them about the

consequences before it becomes a habit for them. Thank you. Also we

this is Dick Pollard from Citywatch, an organisation which works with

retailers. How big a problem is shoplifting in the city? On average,

the same as every other town and city in the Midlands, and we are

getting hit hard at this time of year. How much is it costing?

costs every family in this country �180 a year on top of their

shopping. Why is the bombs are big? You have professional shoplifters,

people doing it to get Christmas presents... -- why is the problem

so big? It is all to go -- coming together. One person was caught

last year stuffing �2,000 worth of goods down her trousers. It is a

crime which we all pay for. Thank you. What is the picture across the

hall of the East Midlands? And how are shoplifters being dealt with.

Our social affairs correspondent reports from Nottingham.

It is spend spend spend here but every detail has to deal with

shoppers who have no intention of paying. This is what they have to

deal with every day. The police are expecting even more shoplifting in

the run-up to Christmas. They think some crimes are not reported by the

stores. Businesses hold a lot of intelligence that they are

protective of because of commercial sensitivity. But we need that

information because that allows us to get a better picture of the

problem. But here is what the police do read. We have used

Freedom of Information to get figures for this spring and summer.

Every month, visa three forces recorded more than 1,400

shoplifting offences, but more than 100 offenders excepted penalty

noses is, meaning they were not arrested. The stores one -- the

police won the stores to do more to catch them. There are stores that

get a lot of CCTV and use other tools for capturing crime. But then

they are overshadowed by the fact that their marketing people come in

and. Big banners and sales adverts in plays that have struck the CCTV.

Recently, I saw one shoplifter hang himself into an East Midlands

police station but then released because there was not evidence.

Here police say some stores are making simple mistakes, too, like

putting expensive plasma screen TVs is right next to the front door

where people can simply walk off with them.

So what happens to all those shoplifters that are not taken to

court? One course of action the stores can take is to try to

recover their money from those arrested. Joining us in the studio

now is Jackie Lambert, who is the managing director of Retail Loss

Prevention, a Nottingham-based firm which specialises in loss recovery.

It seems that this is quite a big problem. We estimate there are

about 6 million incidents of shoplifting a year that the good

honest citizens of Britain are paying for. There is a feeling that

the police know who the really prolific offenders of. Why are they

not before the courts? Due to the sheer volume of crime. The police

cannot cope with level one crime in Britain today. So with all of that

and our courts system struggling to deal with volume, it is a huge cost

also to take every criminal through the court. How successful are you

in recovering money? For the majority of British retailers, our

aim is to reduce crime so by our success is not just retrieving

money for art retailers but preventing reoffending. We have

less than 3% reoffending. It seems that it is more up to the stores to

protect themselves. Certainly retailers take their

responsibilities seriously in trying to deal with crime and

assist the police. Thank you. Nottinghamshire's chief constable

has been to see a police officer seriously injured in a hit and run

incident. Diederik Coetzee was cycling along Blidworth Lane,

towards Blidworth on Friday evening, when a vehicle hit him from behind.

The driver did not stop. The 54 year-old, who was off duty at the

time, is in a critical but stable condition in hospital. Police are

examining CCTV footage to try to identify the car involved.

present, all we know for sure is that this vehicle has front end and

windscreen damage. In other words, it has sustained damage to its

front bumper, to its front grille, and almost certainly to its

windscreen. We believe the vehicle is probably grey.

Still to come on the programme, Leicestershire motorcycle firm

Norton promises to speed up deliveries after complaints from

customers. Join me in London for the inauguration of an amazing

piece of East Midlands clocked technology.

An East Midlands school has become the first in the country to receive

an award for tackling the issue of domestic violence. The South Notts

Academy has been honoured by the White Ribbon Campaign, an

organisation that raises awareness of the issue. Home Office figures

show that 45 per cent of women experience some form of domestic

violence, sexual assault or stalking.

I promise never to keep quiet about domestic violence. I support White

Ribbon Day because every man and woman should be treated equally.

Pledging to take a stand against violence against men and women and

boys and girls. This morning South Notts Academy was the first school

to win a gold award from the White Ribbon Campaign, who worked to

reduce violence. The organisation says the school is exceptional at

teaching a difficult subject. in some people's eyes, very taboo.

It can affect children's lives. It can bring out some things happening

within their own lives and that can be very difficult to deal with but

if you have the right kind of support available, it is a good

thing. The pupils had even made this film as part of their studies.

They learnt about respecting each other through a range of lessons.

We should be careful what we say to people because even little things

may still offend some people. think, slowly, people are starting

to realise how bad it is. And I think slowly it will start to get

that up. Now when I come into the school, they say, it is the white

ribbon lady! And they know what the campaign is about because we mixed

in interesting phone activities with a serious message. It is hoped

the children learning respect for each other early on means respect

between adults later in life. Two men have been arrested following a

fire at its disused theatre in Derby over the weekend. The fire at

the Hippodrome on Green Lane led to the evacuation of a number of homes

on Saturday and part of the city centre had to be closed off. The

Grade Two listed building had been left derelict after being badly

damaged three years ago. Two men, aged 19 and 23, a being questioned

on suspicion of arson. We have to carry on working with

Derby City Council and building it, ascertaining the part -- state of

the building, whether we need to demolish any parts.

Police investigating firearms offences have raided three houses.

Detectives arrested three men in Derby. They had search warrants for

addresses in Elton Road and Victory Road. The men were questioned

throughout the day while officers searched houses. Police also went

to a property in Garsdale Court in Alvaston.

A hospital trust in Nottinghamshire says it has made changes because of

high death rates among some patients. The Dr Foster Hospital

Guide looked at emergency cases at weekends. It says the mortality

rate at the Sherwood Forest Hospitals Trust, which runs King's

Mill, was significantly higher than expected. The trust has called it

the findings an acceptable and says it has already taken action,

including bringing in more emergency care doctors.

Next, the huge demand for an iconic brand of motorbike that has led to

long delays for some customers. The boss of Leicester-based Norton has

admitted it has caught him on the hop and has apologised. However,

one bike fan has told us he has had to call in a debt collection agency

to get back money he had paid out for a bike that never arrived.

The razzmatazz of the motorbike show. Motorbike -- Norton

motorbikes, wearing -- Norton motorbikes at the NEC in Birmingham.

The director admits some of his customers have had to wait a lot

longer than the usual six to nine months for their hand-built bike.

The pressure and the people wanting to take delivery of their bike as

soon as they possibly can has overwhelmed as somewhat and we have

not built the business to supply that many bikes this early, coming

to market. One customer who had a frustrating wait for a �16,000 bike

that never came was John from Southampton. He paid a deposit in

July 2009 and the balance in 20th November 10. Despite repeated

contact with Norton, he only got his money back last month. In the

end, I had to take legal action and instruct a solicitor and a debt

collection agency for in order to try to get some money back. I was

successful but I still lost over �3,000. Now Stuart Garner intends

to double his workforce to around 80 and get on top of the backlog of

around 20 or so it late orders. do have some backdated people

waiting for motorcycles, which we apologise for. But overall, it is a

fabulous success story. We will work hard, we will get the bikes

delivered for these guys... Christmas? By year end. I am still

a Norton motorbikes fan and I will keep my bike if I can afford to do

so now but I am afraid the new incarnation of the company, we have

had a parting of the ways. Santander and is backing Norton

motorbikes with a big loan underwritten by the Government and

there is huge goodwill from the biking community for this iconic

brand to succeed. Police have named a man who died in

a crash on the A46 in Nottinghamshire at the weekend. 30

year-old Lance Corporal Christopher Bradshaw was based at RAF Digby in

Lincolnshire. He died when his car collided with an articulated lorry

early on Saturday morning. Two other lorries and a car were also

involved. Police are appealing for witnesses.

The Government is being urged to include plans to widen the A453 in

Nottinghamshire in a major spending announcement tomorrow. The

Chancellor is expected to unveil a �30 billion programme to try to

boost the economy. However, the dualling of the A453 is not on a

list of 11 projects definitely included. The road's already been

labelled as one of the most congested in the UK. Nottingham

City Council says in proving it is vital for business.

Now, it is not often the British beat the Swiss at clock-making, but

that is exactly what an East Midlands firm has done, and it was

at the invitation of the Swiss themselves. Yes, the clock makers

Smith of Derby, have redesigned and rebuilt the iconic Glockenspiel

clock that played every day in Leicester Square in London for over

20 years. Giant Swiss cowbells, each with a

human carrier, make their way to Swiss Court, just off Leicester

Square, below a strange-looking structure. The new glockenspiel

Clarke replaces one they used to just sit on the bold Swiss tourism

centre. Installed in 1985, it ran around the outside of the building

until that was recently demolished. The clock's figures were shipped

first to Switzerland, then to Smith of Derby, to await reconstruction.

It was in storage for three or four years and then we were asked to

work alongside architects and developers to put the feature back

but not on a building this time. It had to be designed to be a free-

standing structure. After extensive testing this autumn, the clock and

the retuned bells were taken from Derby to Leicester Square for

installation on the 30 metre high derby built tower. It all had to

satisfy the world's most exacting clock makers, the Swiss. For us, it

was obvious to use a contractor here in the UK, together with the

Swiss experts for the music and the bells, and together they created

something marvellous. For the Smith family, pride in designing and

controlling -- building the cocker, that will now be controlled from

Derby. It is a story of the craftsmanship of the wooden figures

through to the wireless technology that allows the team in Derby to

control the clock and the animation of the figures. The clock will now

perform five times a day on weekdays and eight times a day on

weekends, in all, over 2000 times a year.

Isn't that lovely? I want one in my front room. Still to come on the

programme, hard going at the races. The lack of rain prompts a

racecourse to cancel steeplechasing. Time for the sport. It has been a

sombre couple of days in the world of football with everyone trying to

digest the news of the death of Wales manager Gary Speed. Speed had

a long and distinguished playing career and was building a

reputation for excellence as a manager, too. He was found dead at

home over the weekend at the age of 42. He had committed suicide.

Leicester's Andy King has played against Speed, and for him with

Wales. To achieve the sort of stuff that

he has done in a career and still in a modern day game, you get

people that of big time, but for him to do what he has done in the

game and be the nicest guy there was is probably the biggest to beat

anyone could pay to him. That is the kind of thing everyone

is saying to us about Gary Speed today. But before that sad news,

there was football this weekend and setbacks for all our Championship

Portsmouth. This tent they were better. David Nugent just failed to

connect with a teasing cross against his old team. The

goalkeeper somehow kept out a header from Dave Kitson. In a tight

game, Leicester went close through Lloyd Dyer and then Mills's shot

wide. When the opening goal came, it was David Norris who scored it

for the home side. The bell was trawling for Leicester before David

Nugent popped up to score against his old club. Then a wonder save to

earn a valuable point. I did not realise it was a save at the time.

Steve Cotterill says his Nottingham Forest side have to be tougher in

matches. They came up against an informed carded side who extended

their unbeaten run to seven games. The goal was under pressure in the

first half but they survived. Joe Mason finally scored near the end.

We needed to take their chances when we created them. We created a

couple in the first half. Derby County started well at West

Ham with on-loan signing looking hungry for goals. His finishing was

clinical. Just before half-time, after dealing with the free kick,

Derby allowed the resulting cross took reached the Met for an

equaliser. A volley from outside the box from Kevin Nolan then

turned around the game as Nigel Clough once -- watched the points

slip away. A penalty awarded for a thick file was harsh as it was

outside the box. The Rams suffered their fourth defeat in a row.

Notts County won a five-goal thriller against Scunthorpe at

Meadow Lane. Pearce headed home the opener. Then the visitors equalised.

Scumbled's second was a diving header from Bobby Grant. When

Oliver Norwood was sent off for this reckless challenge, not used

them an advantage. The scores were level at 22-2 and then a cool

finish from Julian Kelly won all three points as not so extended

their unbeaten home run took eight Leicester Tigers seemed to be well

and truly back on form. The World Cup induced hiccup was over. That

was clear from Saturday's win over Tigers can perform well enough now

to make up for the poor start or the inevitable struggle without

their internationals during the Six Nations. But coming from behind to

score a second try and get a much- needed away win is enough to

suggest the ability and will are very much there. Form is temporary.

Nottingham Rugby seemed to be starting to go places this season,

too. Still seventh in the table but on Saturday it was the captain's

250th game and they totally demolished Moseley.

Nottingham Panthers were hit by illness but still managed a

comfortable win over Hull on Saturday. Two goals in the first

period set Nottingham on their way and they simply never looked back

from there. 6-1 was the final score. More startling, perhaps, last

night's comeback in the Challenge Cup. The Panthers were 5-0 down

after the first period. In the end it was 5-5. But that was not the

comeback of the weekend. That was the Leicester Riders basketball

team. They were 21 points down at half time in the first leg Cup

semi-final against Newcastle but came back to draw 90-90. Let's hope

for a great second leg in Newcastle on Friday. Another cracker as well,

Alfreton Town 1-0 going into injury time finished 3-2.

Brilliant. Leicester Racecourse has been forced to cancel

steeplechasing after a lack of rain led to a track too hard for the

horses. 2011 has been the driest year in the course's history.

A day at the races, an occasion that brings excitement and if you

are lucky maybe even a bit of money but recently at Leicester

Racecourse events have gone flat. With its undulating ground and

challenging jumps, Stibbard shares represents an exciting part of any

race date but with the ground here to try and unsafe to use, they have

had to scrap it and set up temporary hurdles over there, on

the Flat course. Many people here feel something is missing. I do

think it has lost something. If I was paying to come through the

turnstiles and was not able to see them jump the steeplechase fences I

would be slightly disappointed, but at the end of the day, the horse's

welfare is paramount. We do not want to see horses injured.

with the safety the organisation's number one priority, they had no

choice but to cancel the race. use computers to measure the

moisture levels and unfortunately our hands are tied until the rain

arrives. It is frustrating. We cannot offer the whole ball much --

whole product which we would like to offer. With the cause's

sprinkler system out of action due to the terms of its Environment

Agency licence, the main course, too, could dry out and more races

could be cancelled. The cause needs rain. We need some December rain.

We have our big Christmas meeting on 28th December and we really do

want to be on the position to brace then. The organisers just won the

heavens to open. As if by magic, somebody who knows

the answer. She says there is so much whether she could draw for 30

Sh Leicestershire Racecourse, some rain on the way tomorrow. And again

during the early annas of Thursday morning. But this evening, a much

milder night and it is going to be cloudy but very windy and will

continue to be windy in the next 24 others. If you look closely at this

picture, there are ladybirds here. He disturbs them two weeks ago,

doing gardening, and they are there now for two weeks. Send us your

pictures. Why are we getting these changeable weather? Lots of weather

systems come in from the Atlantic. We have this weather front here

bringing increasing cloud but this area of rain bringing in tomorrow

some very heavy rain for and some gusty wind. Out there at the moment,

it is fairly chilly, but dry. We are stopping to see the

introduction of the South East south-westerly airflow so it is one

of those rare nights where temperatures will actually increase

rather than decrease. The minimum will be about seven or eight

Celsius. Mostly dry. We wake up tomorrow morning with all of that

cloud, the wind increasing through the day, spots of drizzle, but then

the rain arrives. It will move in by lunch time, slowly moving east.

Heavier pauses at times and the wind very gusty. We could see gusts

of up to 60mph. A mild day with temperatures reaching about 12

Celsius. His brain will continue to clear to give us a very chilly

night Tuesday. -- and this rain. Wednesday will be dry and bright

but then the rain will move in Thursday morning. That raised on

Thursday afternoon. Very cold with Before we go, a quick word about

tonight's Inside Out, because they have an exclusive report from the

high-security hospital in Brompton in Nottinghamshire. As cameras are

letting for the first time in decades, we will be speaking to