SECOND-hand stores and fuel stations are the focus of a campaign using covert tactics to tackle crime.

We Don’t Buy Crime is West Mercia Police’s response to crimes such as burglary and theft and associated harm.

Each Whittington resident will be given a SmartWater Forensic Property Marking kit to help prevent crime.

Signs posted around the village to warn of potential criminals.

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The campaign focuses on second-hand stores, fuel stations, deploying covert tactics and looking at ways our local communities can help tackle associated harm including criminal exploitation and vulnerability.

In 2015,  We Don’t Buy Crime was launched in Cleobury Mortimer to combat a rise in the number of burglaries in the small town.

Signs were put in place in key locations warning criminals the town had taken crime prevention measures.

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The initiative was so successful it was implemented in other towns and villages across the counties covered by West Mercia Police.

There are now hundreds of towns and villages in Worcestershire, Herefordshire and Shropshire signed up for the initiative.

According to the We Don't Buy Crime website, burglary and theft can have a long-lasting impact on victims, often leaving someone feeling unsafe in their own home.