Politics
More action promised after police witness fewer than one in four shoplifting incidents
The Police Minister said she wanted forces to “do a lot more” to tackle shoplifting after figures obtained by Sky News showed fewer than one in four incidents were dealt with by police officers in 2023.
Dame Diana Johnson blamed a drop in officer numbers under the previous government, but also said she wanted to “see shop theft treated seriously and the police must play their part”.
She was reacting to figures obtained by Sky News under the Freedom of Information Act, which reveal officers have witnessed fewer and fewer incidents over the past decade.
Only 22% of shoplifting incidents were immediately dealt with by the police in 2023, based on responses from 22 of England's 39 police forces.
In 2016, data from 17 forces gave an attendance rate of 52%, more than double the 2023 figure.
While in 2013, figures from 11 forces suggested an attendance rate of 72%, more than three times higher than a decade later.
Looking only at the 2013 and 2016 data sets, there is a clear trend of declining attendance rates.
Some of the police agencies that responded to our inquiry said this was due to modern remote investigation techniques.
Others said that while officers don't always go to crime scenes immediately, they will often follow up later if there are credible investigative leads.
However, store owners and employees have complained that a lack of police attention to retail crime has created an atmosphere in which criminals believe they can steal with few repercussions. .
Earlier this year, the British Retail Consortium said violence and Abuse against retail workers has increased significantly to 1,300 per day in 2022/23.
Sky News has seen CCTV footage showing a south London store worker being threatened by three people on Christmas Day 2023.
The thieves steal scratch cards and spirits and attempt to attack a cashier, who fights back with what appears to be a key.
Another London shop owner said he kept a baseball bat and pepper spray behind his counter, but was asked by police to remove them.
We can't stop them, hold them back or anything. Traders are so vulnerable right now, Dennis Mariyaesan said.
He also accused police of failing to attend incidents of store theft and not taking the crime seriously enough.
Commander Owain Richards of the Metropolitan Police said: “Our call handlers will assess each report and make an assessment based on the available lines of inquiry. »
Learn more:
Police arrest 93 gang members behind 4 million thefts in crackdown on shoplifting
Workers say shoplifting is 'out of control' after surge in brazen thefts
A retail crime action plan was published last year by the National Police Chiefs' Council (NPCC), prioritizing attendance at incidents where violence was involved or where an offender had been arrested.
However, levels of theft in stores have increased significantly in recent years which puts pressure on police resources.
An NPCC spokesperson said: “We have made significant progress in our fight against retail crime, strengthening relationships with retailers and significantly improving information sharing, which has enabled a number of very damaging offenders to be brought to justice. »
Dame Diana told Sky News: “We know that over the last year there has been a 29% increase in shop thefts. This cannot continue, we must act and the police must play its role.”
She also pointed to the decline in the number of officers as a possible reason for the drop in attendance rates.
Police numbers fell by around 20,000 between 2010 and 2017 before increasing by 25,000 by 2023 as part of a recruitment drive launched under Boris Johnson.
The Labor government has committed to 13,000 additional neighborhood officers by 2029.
Sir Keir Starmer also promised a “named, contactable police officer” in every neighborhood and a scrapping of the 2014 law which means “low value” thefts of less than €200 will be subject to less severe penalties.
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