THE boss of department store Beales said security officers at the Bournemouth branch are detaining six shoplifters every week.

CEO Tony Brown, who began his retail career working in security for a supermarket chain, said shop thefts will "never" be fully eradicated.

However, he hailed the work of Bournemouth's business community in cracking down on those who target shops.

The store's security officers keep track of known shoplifters in order to ban them from the premises. Staff from businesses around the area also communicate via radios to warn of problems in the town centre.

Rangers funded by the Bournemouth Town Centre Business Improvement District (BID) team are often called out to deal with problems such as shoplifting.

"At the Bournemouth store, we get five or six shoplifters a week," Mr Brown said.

"Last week was slow - we caught four."

Thieves target "high-end products", which are easy to sell on.

"In particular, shoplifters are going for cosmetics and menswear," Mr Brown said.

"It takes less effort to sell a pair of Levi's jeans down the pub than find someone's dress size."

Mr Brown said there has previously been a misconception that shoplifting is a "soft crime".

"It's not - it's a serious offence and it fuels all sorts of other things," he said.

"There's a real momentum in Bournemouth to target shoplifters.

"We'll never eliminate it completely, but we can find ways to work in unison to lessen the impact on businesses."

Offenders who appear before the courts charged with shoplifting in Bournemouth frequently target the town's biggest businesses, including Beales and TK Maxx.

"There's a good self-help network with the BID," Mr Brown said.

"I think the police are stretched. It's easy to criticise, but there's no doubt officers are working very hard with the resources they have.

"Overall, there's a concerted effort in the town to deal with shoplifting."

Bournemouth council’s business champion, Councillor Nigel Hedges, worked at Beales in the 1970s.

He said shoplifting had always been a problem, but part of the blame lies at the feet of national chain stores.

“There are two perennials – death and taxes,” he said. “If you wanted to add a third it would probably be theft.

“Part of the problem is national chains which add ‘shrinkage’ into their calculations.

“It is as if they are accepting the issue and I find that to be a wrong approach.

“There are some fantastic organisations in Bournemouth working with businesses but unfortunately shoplifting will always exist.”

Bournemouth Businesses Reducing Crime - a not-for-profit members partnership between businesses, the police, town centre management and the council - banned 307 people from shops in the town centre last year.