A police chief has expressed frustration over the futility of arresting shoplifters, as the courts often release them, deeming the current legal approach as ‘madness’.

Katy Bourne, who leads on shoplifting for the Association of Police and Crime Commissioners, criticized the absence of an ‘effective deterrent’ for repeat shoplifters.

She emphasized the ‘madness’ of not imprisoning thieves who target Britain’s retailers, stating to the Telegraph, ‘People need to realize that they will be caught and face significant consequences.’

‘There is no point arresting shoplifters if there is no effective deterrent.’

The Police and Crime Commissioner for Sussex said that as a result of prisons being at capacity, many offenders are avoiding facing time in jail.

Shoplifting rates have almost doubled in two decades, with three thefts a minute recorded across England and Wales in the year to March.

There were 530,643 reported to the police in this time, up 20 per cent on the previous year’s 444,022.

The issue is particularly prevalent in chemists, where theft of drugs and medical supplies has surged by an estimated 88% over the past year.

Now, Ms Bourne has hit out at successive governments for handling the thieves with ‘kid gloves’. 

She added: ‘Successive parliaments have contributed to an indigestible legislative layer cake of rights and data protection laws and police guidance that treats the greedy, the ruthless and feckless with kid gloves.’

Last September, she criticised the Tories for failing to tackle organised crime gangs seriously and advocated for prolific shoplifters to be given electronic location tags in a bid to clamp down on retail theft. 

The police chief added that she had become frustrated by a persistent lack of action by the government, suggesting that offenders must commit the crime several times before they are eventually imprisoned.

As a result of the growing issue, alongside a lack of prison space, Ms Bourne has now said that Sussex will be set to introduce the nation’s first electronic tagging scheme in a bid to tack

The innovative move will mean that those caught shoplifting on a regular basis could face GPS tagging and rehabilitation orders ensuring they are banned from shops and even given certain curfews. 

She acknowledged that while rehabilitation for some offenders is key, consequences must be enforced, alongside suitable alternatives as a result of overcrowded prisons. 

In light of the stark rates of shoplifting across the nation, the Government has now agreed that the crime should be called ‘shop theft’ in order to avoid downplaying its seriousness.

In a letter to ministers, peers warned the ‘outdated’ word was ‘trivialising the severity of the offence’ and called for it to be phased out in legislation and guidance.

The Government responded to commit to using ‘shop theft’ where appropriate, the Daily Telegraph reported.

The letter from peers sent in November said: ‘The use of the outdated term “shoplifting” serves to trivialise the serious, organised nature of an increasing element of shop theft which is having a devastating effect on the retail sector. We recommend its use should be phased out.’

In response, policing minister Dame Diana Johnson said: ‘The Government will use the expression “shop theft” where appropriate.

Sir Keir Starmer has made tackling shoplifting one of his top priorities since taking office, and pledged to spend an extra £200m on neighbourhood policing, as well as making assaulting a shop worker a more serious offence.

However, the Prime Minister came under criticism this week for failing to refer to shoplifters as ‘scumbags.’

It came after Rob Davies, 61, a shopkeeper in Wrexham, North Wales, was left stunned after police told him to change his sign in which he called shoplifters ‘scumbags’ because it may be offensive.

A warning from the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) said that shaming shoplifting suspects could ‘breach data protection’ laws.

On an advice page for tackling shoplifters, the UK data watchdog warned that putting up images of thieves in a local area could ‘not be appropriate’ behaviour.

As a result, they advised retailers to ‘only share personal information that’s proportionate and necessary to achieve your purpose’.

However shadow justice secretary Robert Jenrick called the advice ‘madness’ and suggested that shoplifters should be ‘named and shamed’.

Meanwhile, Labour MP Alex Davies-Jones told Radio 4’s Today Programme earlier this week that shoplifting had ‘got out of hand’.

When asked if it was right for shops to post photos of suspects, she responded: ‘I think it is on all of us to be aware of what is going on in our local communities.’

Taking to X, Shadow home office minister Katie Lam recounted a story about a constituent who had been ordered by police to remove pictures of suspected shoplifters.

‘He gives police CCTV, card details, licence plates. No action apart from a visit to say he must take down pics of thieves “because of GDPR”,’ she wrote.

‘Our system should crush the lawless and protect the law-abiding. It does the opposite.’

 

Earlier this week, Matthew Barber, the Conservative Police and Crime Commissioner for Thames Valley, said tackling thieves was not just a job for police and criticised onlookers for standing back and filming instances of crime.

Instead, he encouraged the public to stand up to thieves themselves and not rely on bobbies on the beat for help.

Mr Barber criticised the public for being ‘part of the problem’ and encouraged shop owners to to deal with thieves themselves.

But ex-New Scotland Yard detective Peter Bleksley has criticised Mr Barber’s comments, calling them ‘utter idiocy’ and warning they could lead to more crime.

Speaking to the Daily Mail, Mr Bleksley said: ‘The PCC has clearly not thought – it’s complete and utter idiocy.

Sanjeev Panesar, who owns a pharmacy in Birmingham, described the ‘noticeable rise’ in hostility towards staff as both ‘disheartening’ but also capable of having a ‘lasting effect on job satisfaction, morale, and feelings of safety at work.’

Meanwhile, Ashley Cowen, owner of three pharmacies across Leeds and York that have been subjected to incidents, described the lack of police action on the issue as ‘shocking’.

He also described witnessing brazen thieves going as far as to burn, cut and even sow through ‘steel grilles’ in a bid to access drug stock.

A spokesman for the Information Commissioner’s Office said: ‘We don’t set strict requirements on how organisations should respond to shoplifting, as data protection law recognises that circumstances can vary. Instead, we provide guidance to help organisations use people’s information in a way that is lawful, fair and proportionate.

‘Data protection law enables retailers to share images to prevent or detect crime, as long as it’s necessary and proportionate in the circumstances. For example, this could include sharing images with the police, shopping centre security teams, or other relevant authorities.

‘Retailers will need to consider the relevant privacy implications, such as having a legal reason and appropriate security measures, when considering publishing any images of suspected shoplifters.’

Shoplifting figures released this week by the British Retail Consortium (BRC) showed just 2.5 per cent of offences were recorded by the police each year.

It said 50,000 shoplifting incidents go unreported every day as firms give up on the police.

BRC chief executive Helen Dickinson said: ‘Many retailers do not see the point of reporting incidents to the police.’

The Home Office was approached for comment.