KENDAL Police has taken on three new recruits in a bid to deter shoplifters – cardboard cut-outs of an officer.

The six foot cardboard coppers are on patrol at shops in Kendal and Windermere as a warning to would-be thieves.

The move is part of an Acquisitive Crime Strategy for Kendal, which focuses on shoplifting.

Inspector Paul Latham, of the Kendal Policing Team, said, “This is a trial period to see whether they have any effect.

“The idea is that their presence may send a subliminal message to someone who might be slightly opportunist.

“It could stick in their mind and make them think twice before committing a crime.”

The flat-pack PCs are life-size 2D cut-outs of a uniformed officer, believed to be a sergeant in West Cumbria.

One has been given to Windermere, and the other two have been placed at stores in Kendal – with one currently in Morrisons and the other in Poundland.

“We offered them to two shops since buying them earlier this year and both have taken us up on it, which we see as a positive sign,” said Insp Latham.

“What I plan to do is go back to some shops in a short time and see if they are of any value.

“I hope people can make use of them – if you don’t try things, you’ll never know.”

Insp Latham added that they are not designed to replace police officers, or other security measures such as door staff and CCTV.

"They are meant to complement existing strategies,” he said.

Cardboard police have been used by other forces across the UK for a number of years.

In Doncaster, officers claimed the cardboard constables helped contribute to a 50 per cent decrease in crime in certain stores.

And an Asda store in Leigh, Greater Manchester, saw shoplifting drop by 75 per cent thanks to a realistic cut-out nicknamed PC Boardman.

But some have become targets of crime themselves after being stolen from their posts or vandalised.

There was no information immediately available on how much South Lakeland’s three officers cost, but commercially-produced promotional cut-outs can cost from £12 and £30 each.

Darren White, Store Manager at Poundland, said the store "hadn't noticed a difference" during the two weeks since the cardboard cop arrived.

"We ordered it because we caught a group of youths shoplifting and we thought it would be a deterrent to them, but there's been another shoplifting incident since it's been here," he said.