Prime Minister tackles shoplifting problem

Responding to a question during today’s Prime Minister’s Questions in the House of Commons, he said: “I have spoken to many who work in our stores and are very concerned about shoplifting.

“Things got out of hand due to the approach of the previous government. We bring it under control.

“It is not accessible; it has a huge impact on the customers and especially on the staff.

“That’s why we’re spending money on training police and retailers and supporting specialist analyst teams to crack down on the gangs that target retailers.”

Shopworkers union Usdaw welcomed Starmer’s comments.

General secretary Paddy Lillis said: “Retail crime, theft from shops and abuse of staff are real concerns for our members and we are pleased that they have been brought to the attention of the Prime Minister at the highest level.

“Keir Starmer’s response shows that under Labour, we have seen a complete change in the government’s response to a significant increase in retail theft, which has doubled since the pandemic and is up 29% in the last 12 months.

“We are pleased that the new Labor Government has announced a Crime and Policing Bill in the King’s Speech.

“This new legislation will provide much-needed legal protections for retail workers; end the indefensible £200 threshold for prosecuting shoplifters, which has effectively become an open invitation to retail criminals; along with the introduction of respect orders for repeat offenders.

“The Chancellor has announced in the Budget that there will be funding to tackle the organized criminals responsible for the increase in shoplifting, as Keir Starmer highlighted.

“Last week the Prime Minister announced funding for an additional 13,000 uniformed police officers to patrol our communities and high streets.

“It is our hope that these new measures will ensure that store workers receive the respect they deserve.”

Crime statistics in England and Wales show that there were 228,250 police-recorded shoplifting incidents in the year to March 2021. That rose 106% to 469,788 in the latest statistics for the year to June 2024.

Interim results from the 2024 Usdaw survey, based on 4,073 responses, show that:

69% were verbally abused
45% were threatened
17% of store staff had been attacked.

Of those who were abused, threatened or assaulted, 70% said shoplifting was the trigger, and their assessment of the underlying problems was that 64% were related to a drug and/or alcohol addiction.