by NADEEM BADSHAH
SHOPKEEPERS have called for more action to be taken against criminals by police and ministers after new figures showed the number of thefts has risen.
Incidents have increased following the introduction a £200 threshold by police before criminals are pursued.
Figures from 25 police forces suggest there has been at least a seven per cent increase in the number of offences reported by supermarkets alone over the past four years.
Officers were called to investigate more than 78,000 shoplifting incidents in 2017, up from just over 72,000 in 2014.
Separate data from the Home Office has shown overall shoplifting offences rose by nearly 23 per cent between 2013 and 2017. However, during the same period, the number of people arrested dropped by 17 per cent and suspects charged fell by 25 per cent.
The Association of Convenience Stores, which says shoplifting incidents doubled last year, hosted a Crime Seminar on issues including tackling violence and robbers in March in London.
Gurcharan Harrad, owner of Village News in Birmingham, told Eastern Eye: “I know big stores have had problems, regulars doing it every day.
“It’s the lack of resources, by the time police arrive on the scene, they have gone and you cannot use force on them as there’s a risk of you getting prosecuted and they will get off scot-free.
“It’s petty crime; what can they do when they are short-handed.
“You see enough police cars but very rarely officers walking around. If there were more patrols that would deter them.”
Harrad added: “Once I caught a woman, she drank half the bottle of wine she took and came when my wife was in our shop. I found her in a church drinking, she appeared homeless.
“We have a red button; if we press it the police come straight away. We have CCTV cameras, but when two or three people enter together, who do you keep your eye on?”
The 2014 Anti-social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act defines “low-value shoplifting” as a summary offence, which means police forces decide whether to investigate thefts from shops of a value under £200.
Anyone who is caught in the act of stealing goods valued under £200 can still be arrested and face prosecution, but the act allows them to plead guilty by post. They only have to attend the magistrates’ court if they plead not guilty.
But Surrey Police had a 69 per cent drop in arrests between 2013 to 2017 and also saw a drop in charges of more than 46 per cent. The number of charges for shoplifting brought by the Metropolitan Police nearly halved in five years, dropping from 9,596 in 2013 to 5,252 in 2017.
Mike Cherry, national chairman of the Federation of Small Businesses, said the rise in theft is partly down to police budgets being slashed.
He told Eastern Eye: “This is especially the case in instances where the crime was non-violent or low value, and with fewer police officers on the streets, other crime will take priority. But this is also an issue wedded to policing practice too.
“The other reason small businesses often fall foul to petty crime is they simply don’t have their own resources when it comes to shop security, CCTV and monitoring. With fewer staff or security, they just don’t have the ability to apprehend thieves compared to larger businesses.
“If we are to improve the current position that small business owners find themselves in, not only do the police need more resources, but a change in culture is also needed.”
Some store owners have been forced to employ security guards, put bike locks on fridge doors and tag their products to track them if they are stolen.
Paul Cheema, who owns two convenience stores in Coventry, Midlands, recently had to close a third store due to losses from shoplifting.
He said: “We are losing some weeks £1,000 in stock per week, can I survive that? No. We are going to put more resources in, more CCTV which hits our business rates.
“We are working with a company who came up with a sticker solution putting our ID on proteins, fresh meat, tea, coffee,
beverages, household products, spirits.” Cheema added: “Local police said ‘under x amount of pounds we are not coming out anymore’, instead we should report it electronically.
“Was that the right thing to do – to tell shoplifters because we have not got the resources? Police should be asking the questions and get more resources to make our communities safer.”
The Home Office said it is important that retailers report incidents of shoplifting to the police so effective action can be taken against offenders.