SAFETY schemes in Selby town centre could help improve security in the town, a security expert has said.

The suggestion was made after North Yorkshire Police advised shoppers to be on the lookout for criminal gangs who operate in the area. It follows a case in which a woman was imprisoned for stealing a handbag.

A scheme which aimed to improve the security of town centre shops with the help of shopkeepers, known as Fight Back, was set up by police in Selby in 2002, and is no longer active, although a spokesman for North Yorkshire Police said “the issue remains a priority in Selby”.

Geoff Gordon, former head of the Selby chamber of commerce and senior partner of SWAT Security in the town, said: “It would do no harm for schemes like Fight Back to be revived, but how much support the police could give to the town now, we don’t know.

“Selby is a lot safer than it used to be, and I don’t think there’s any doubt about that.”

On June 3, Petra Stojkova, 33, was caught by staff and customers along with three other people at the Tesco supermarket in Selby, after she attempted to steal a shopper’s handbag.

Stojkova, from Leeds, was sentenced to 12 weeks in prison by Selby magistrates on June 6, though the other three individuals were released without charge.

Police Constable Pete McCreedy, of the Selby Safer Neighbourhood Team, praised the actions of the public and said: “I would like to thank the public-spirited citizens who apprehended the thief and allowed us to bring her to justice.

“Criminal gangs are known to travel long distance to commit this type of offence. They are often very slick in their method of operation distracting shoppers before carrying out thefts in seconds and leaving the store before the victims realise their property has been stolen.”

PC McCreedy also advised shoppers never to leave bags unattended in trolleys, and to carry them, wherever possible, across the chest with the flap facing the body.