SOUTHAMPTON business chiefs have demanded action from police over fears that the city’s shopping district has become “lawless”.

Business bosses say there has been a sharp rise in “uncontrolled” aggressive begging, staff intimidation and public drug use across the city centre.

And they claim police are failing to attend their 999 or 101 calls or take action against criminals – even when shopkeepers say they have identified the offenders through CCTV.

It has driven one shop owner to describe the city centre as “lawless”.

Now bosses at a commerce group which represents more than 650 business in the city centre have written to Hampshire’s Police and Crime Commissioner calling for action.

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GO! Southampton Business Improvement District (BID) believe a “tipping point” has been reached in city centre crime.

They are now demanding a greater police presence in the city’s shopping district in a bid to deter criminals.

The group is also calling on police to tackle shoplifters, aggressive beggars and those who cause anti-social behaviour in the city centre.

Giles Semper, Executive Director of GO! Southampton, said: “Crime is on the increase and in Southampton it is worse than anywhere else in Hampshire. Our experience shows that the only really effective deterrent is visible police presence.

“Whilst the Government has promised 20,000 new officers nationwide, we are still not confident that the city will get the numbers it needs.

“We have great ambitions for Southampton as a business destination and a great place to visit. But all our positive projects are undermined by the current levels of crime.”

Mr Semper added: “Whilst we are great admirers of the police leadership and officers in the city, and work in a close partnership with them, they simply do not have adequate levels of personnel to respond to what is going on.”

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One Southampton business owner, Danny Grimes, who runs Cash Recycle Pawnbrokers in The Marlands Centre, has been impacted by crime.

He said in one incident a man threatened to burn down his shop after staff refused to buy an item from him.

The 46-year-old father-of-four said the man later assaulted one of his employees.

Mr Grimes, who was brought up in Southampton, said: “These criminals don’t even care because there are no police there. It seems to be pretty lawless.”

“You can see people taking drugs in the streets or in the car parks, it’s overt.

“It’s just sad to see Southampton going downhill like this.”

Another business owner, Jassu Randhawa, who runs Nousha Lounge in East Street, said she had to switch her business from a cocktail bar to a coffee shop six months ago due to issues with crime.

The 32-year-old said her windows were smashed as a result of vandalism and that drug users were sneaking into her toilets.

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She said: “We are doing much better now since the rebrand, but I think we still need a bigger police presence, particularly somewhere like East Street.

“Some traders are at their wits’ end.”

The BID’s letter to Hampshire’s Police and Crime Commissioner Michael Lane comes following a survey of group members, which showed 70 per cent felt fear of crime was a significant issue.

They say just 13 per cent of BID members felt the same way in a survey in 2016.

The group say at least 63 per cent of its members reported at least one staff had been assaulted in the last 12 months.

And, according to the group, one board members, Parkhouse Jewellers, was forced to relocate to Westquay because “customers were no longer willing to run the gauntlet of aggressive beggars”.

BID leaders say they have since taken their own action and have even offered to fund police community support officers (PCSOs) for the city centre.

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But they say the group was “unsuccessful” in talks and has since employed three security staff, on top of its city guides, to help police the city centre streets.

In response, police say they understand the frustration of business owners, but need to prioritise their resources on serious crimes.

Acting Superintendent Phil Lamb said “We understand the frustrations felt by businesses in the area and we are committed to helping address these issues.

“Our priorities are incidents that cause high harm and involve vulnerable people, such as most serious violence, domestic abuse and serious sexual offences.

“The nature of these offences cause the most harm to people and this is where our focus must be.

“Southampton is a large and complex policing district which is made up of four policing sectors.

“The teams in our central sector that cover the city centre have some of the highest resource, however, there are densely populated areas that surround the city that often require resources to be re-deployed to priority incidents, taking them away from the city centre.”

Meanwhile, the office of Michael Lane has promised to take the letter “very seriously”.

Assistant Police and Crime Commissioner, Enzo Riglia said: “This is such an important matter. We shall continue to work with business partners as we are doing now to address their concerns.”