Fortnum and Mason ‘gives up on police catching shoplifters’ – The Telegraph

But retailers will hope for a change in approach as Sir Mark Rowley, the new Met Commissioner, puts together his plan to drive down crime in the capital. His reforms are aiming to restore trust and confidence in the force, with a renewed emphasis on tackling burglary and robbery.

He said he was upset that an attitude had been allowed to develop in which theres no point in ringing the police.

We have to be paying attention to a full range of crimes, Sir Mark told the Sunday Times.

A strategy that the Met could look to emulate is the creation of shoplifting squads, a scheme introduced by Sussex Police which led to twice as many shoplifting offences being solved.

The retail crime unit of nine officers, led by a sergeant, is thought to be the first in the country dedicated solely to investigating shoplifting and building a database of prolific offenders. By creating a specialist unit, it meant officers were not being distracted by other tasks.

Kit Malthouse, the Education Secretary who at the time was policing minister wrote to every chief constable in September 2020 ordering them to stop effectively decriminalising thefts under 200 and that they can and should prosecute thieves who steal low-value items.

Mr Malthouse told The Telegraph: Shoplifting is far from being a victimless crime. It can seriously damage our small businesses, and the thuggery that often comes with it can have a profound impact on victims as well as the wider community.

We are working to outsmart these petty criminals, and it is local initiatives like this one by Sussex Police which, alongside our world-beating GPS tagging of offenders, are key to making our streets safer.

Chris Neilson, Sussex Polices lead on business crime, said the scheme was creating a closer tie between businesses and officers.

They have the connectivity into individual CCTV control rooms, the managers in the local stores. They build relationships and that then builds confidence. It also increases our capability to identify offenders. We focus on the prolific thieves committing the most offences and harm.

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Fortnum and Mason 'gives up on police catching shoplifters' - The Telegraph