Cllr Tom Campbell said: “I was contacted by managers of the Henderson Group, who were very concerned by a spate of recent robberies, which had impacted on their staff and workers in other small shops. I arranged a meeting at Mossley Mill which was attended by senior police officers and the manager of the District Policing Partnership.
“The meeting focused on efforts to catch the robbers and also to provide reassurance to staff. I am grateful for assurances that the Police Service are treating the recent crime wave as a priority and actively following up each case. I know that it often seems to the victims that police activity falls off after a few days, but we were assured that the investigations remain active at this time.”
David Ford added: “As well as catching those who have committed these robberies, we also asked about protection for shop workers. Often these robberies happen when there are only one or two staff present and this can be very traumatic for the victims.
“Neighbourhood police officers will be keeping in touch with shops on their patch, to provide reassurance and advice to staff. This will apply to all relevant shops and will be backed up by the management of Hendersons for their shops.
“Tom Campbell and I appreciate the effort of all concerned to deal with this scourge. We would urge anyone who has any information that might help catch the robbers to contact Newtownabbey Police and help to put these criminals behind bars.”
ENDS