Police are investigating a purse dipping in Watford and have released CCTV footage of the incident as part of their enquiries.
The incident happened in the Atria shopping centre (formerly INTU Watford) on Tuesday 13 April, when the female victim was shopping in H&M.
When the victim reached the till to pay for her items, she realised her purse and mobile phone had been removed from her backpack.
PC Becky Clark, who is investigating, said: “We have taken the decision to release this footage – after being given permission by both H&M and the victim – as part of our investigation.
“We are also keen to identify the person shown in the footage because we would like to speak to them in connection with this offence, as we believe they have vital information. If you think you know who the person is, please get in touch with us as soon as possible.
“We are working closely with the team at Atria to address this type of crime and in addition, we regularly run plain-clothes operations in the town centre specifically targeting purse-dippers.”
Herts Police have advised people who might know the person in the footage, or if anyone has any further information you believe could assist the investigation, you can email PC Clark, use online web chat at herts.police.uk/contact, report information online at herts.police.uk/report or call the non-emergency number 101.
Source: Hertfordshire Police
