THE manager of the company responsible for improving Hereford city centre said a reduction in crime shows that the city is on the lookout for known offenders.

The latest police figures show in the year to date there have been 52 shoplifting offences in Hereford city centre compared to 73 at the same time of year in 2015.

All other theft offences have also reduced with 18 reported in the year to date compared to 29 at the same time last year.

The business crime figures across the board for the city centre are all down or remain the same besides criminal damage and arson which is up by 8.3 percent, there have been 26 offences reported in the year to date compared to last year's figure of 24.

And Mike Truelove, operations manager of The Hereford Business Improvement District (HBID) said this is due to the success of Facewatch- a secure online portal where businesses can share images of offenders with the police and other businesses.

He said: "A sustained effort has been made at ground level to share real time data with businesses and groups involved with city security and we are now reaping the benefits of that work.

"We no longer need to wait for crime to happen to react – the city is on the lookout for known offenders and our message to them is clear and simple, in Hereford you will be caught."

Facewatch was launched in the city centre last June and allows businesses to report and monitor local crime in a secure online portal.

Dan Guerche, Play nightclub manager, chair of Hereford Against Night Time Disorder (HAND) and HBID board member for security and night time economy, said: “These figures really do say it all about the work that has been going on behind the scenes over the last year.

"The HBID in conjunction with the police, retailers, Retail Radio Group and HAND have all worked closely together to reduce crime and the results clearly show how far we have come in only one year."

For more information on Facewatch contact Mr Truelove on 01432 376830 or email: info@herefordbid.co.uk.