Labour’s recent reforms on crime and punishment could result in only 0.3 percent of shoplifters being imprisoned annually, according to newly released data. This revelation has sparked concern as it suggests that thousands of shoplifters may avoid incarceration under the new sentencing guidelines that came into effect last month.
The data, brought to light by the Conservative Party, challenges recent comments by Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer. He had claimed that early indications pointed to a decline in the surge of shoplifting cases that emerged following the pandemic. However, these findings cast doubt on those assertions.
The Conservative Party has criticized the government’s approach, warning that these judicial reforms could exacerbate retail crime and labeling the measures as a “shoplifters’ charter.” They argue that the changes may inadvertently encourage theft by reducing the likelihood of imprisonment.
According to the new regulations, judges are advised against issuing jail sentences of less than 12 months. Instead, they are encouraged to opt for suspended sentences unless there are exceptional circumstances warranting a harsher penalty.
Government statistics reveal that, in the year leading up to September, only 144 shoplifters out of the 46,300 sentenced received prison terms exceeding 12 months. This stark figure highlights the potential impact of the reforms, which aim to decrease short-term incarceration.
Official government data shows just 144 shoplifters dealt with by the courts in the year to September – a mere 0.3 per cent of 46,300 total number sentenced – received prison terms of more than 12 months.
During the same period, 12,590 shop thieves were handed custodial sentences of less than 12 months – meaning they can now expect to receive a suspended sentence under Labour’s changes
The Conservatives based their research on the assumption that similar patterns of sentencing will be repeated from now on.
Shadow Justice Secretary Nick Timothy said: ‘Labour have written a shoplifters’ charter where virtually all shoplifters will avoid custody and avoid facing consequences for their crimes.
‘It is weak and irresponsible.
‘We should be locking up more people for longer, not making it easier for them to avoid prison altogether.’
Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp said: ‘Shoplifting is a scourge. Shelves are being cleared in plain sight because criminals know there is no consequence.
‘Under Labour’s plans only 144 shoplifters will go to prison each year – when there are 519,000 shoplifting crimes.
‘With no prison for shoplifters, it will surge even more under Labour.’
He added: ‘Only the Conservatives have a plan to fix this.
‘We will put 10,000 more officers on the streets, restore visible policing, back officers to act decisively, and ensure that crime and anti-social behaviour face real consequences.’
In a speech to shopworkers’ union USDAW on Monday, the PM crowed about a 17 per cent rise in the number of shoplifters charged and a slight fall in shoplifting incidents recorded by police.
Official crime figures published last week showed recorded shoplifting offences dipped by one per cent to 509,566 incidents in England and Wales last year, after climbing significantly every year since Covid.
‘In the latest stats shop theft is down. It’s only slightly down, but the tide could be turning,’ Sir Keir said.
Labour’s Sentencing Act, which blocks the use of most jail sentences of less than 12 months, came into force on March 22.
The average jail term handed to shoplifters in the year to September was just 2.4 months.
Justice Secretary David Lammy said: ‘The Conservatives are utterly shameless.
‘The 46,000 shoplifting sentences the Tories are complaining about are at the highest level since 2017, while the 144 getting more than 12 months custodial sentence is higher than in any of the last eight years of Tory Government.
‘It was the last Conservative Government that introduced the £200 threshold, effectively decriminalising thefts from shops.
‘This Labour Government is tackling this scourge head-on by putting an extra 3,000 neighbourhood police officers on the streets, as well as scrapping the Tories’ effective immunity for thieves stealing goods worth less than £200.’
Despite the slight fall in recorded offences, retailers have insisted the shoplifting crime wave is far from over, and have described how stores have given up reporting every incident to police.
Lucy Whing of the British Retail Consortium said last week their own figures indicated the true number of incidents was 5.5million incidents last year.
Jason Tarry, the chairman of high street giant John Lewis, said shoplifting had hit the worst levels he had seen ‘in my 35 years in retail’.
‘These are clear signals that legislators are willing to stand shoulder to shoulder with retailers to tackle the problem, but we all know that more is needed to make a difference,’ he wrote in The Telegraph.
He urged the courts to ‘more consistently use the sentencing tools available to them to bring criminals to justice and help their rehabilitation’.
