If the police don’t enforce the law people will keep breaking it. Seems obvious.
Of all the laws to break, at least these ones aren’t that bad. Better than getting killed in a mass shooting anyway.
If these stores know who the shoplifters are and have video evidence it seems insane the police won’t arrest them. People refusing to report certain shoplifters is ridiculous as well.
- Police only catch the criminals. I've worked at loss prevention, but criminals today are enabled. I world understand some poor people stealing a personal care item or food.
Almost 90 retail leaders, including the bosses of Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Boots and WH Smith, have written to the government demanding action on rising retail crime, in which violent criminals are 'emptying stores'.
The retailers, who also include the bosses of Aldi, Primark and Superdrug, call for the creation of a new UK-wide aggravated offence of assaulting or abusing a retail worker – as already exists in Scotland – which would carry tougher sentences and require police to record all incidents of retail crime and allow the allocation of more resources.
'The police consistently tell us that a lack of data about these offences means they have no visibility about the nature or scale of the issue,' the letter says.
The 88 retail bosses have asked for a meeting with the Home Secretary, Suella Braverman,
to discuss the issue after a meeting with the Minister for Crime, Chris Philp,
led to the promise to develop an action plan.
Meanwhile the police’s own data for one major retailer shows that forces failed to respond to 73% of serious retail crimes that were reported, while 44% of retailers in the BRC’s annual crime survey rated the police response as 'poor' or 'very poor'.
It's pretty infuriating isn't it? To see another human so brazenly take something that doesn't belong to them just drives this primal response that makes normal people desire swift harsh justice. It's not my stuff, but I know it very well could be. We live in a society.
I posit a large percent of people find it makes them mad seeing others get away with it. Not necessarily because it's wrong, but because they get away with it and nothing is done.
When they see how lax it is, they start getting thoughts themselves. People who are trying "to do the right thing" but are poor and on a knife edge themselves. That leads to more crime imo. This goes for employees too taking the odd low value item or more.
People have their bicycles stolen by serial bicycle thieves. Sometimes they have video of the thieves taking the bikes, recognise the thieves and go to the police with the video and the thieves' names and addresses. Sometimes they track their stolen bikes down where they are for sale and go to the police with the information. Anecdotally I have heard several cases of people AirTagging their bicycles, so when they are stolen they know the address the bike has been taken to. The police do nothing.
After such a case a woman went and sat outside 'Dave the Bike Thief's' house from 10am - 4pm for three days after he stole her son's £450 bike, during which time Dave came out and laughed in her and her husband's faces. Although the police had ignored the theft, they sent someone to warn her on what she was and was not allowed to do during her picket. Dave was convicted of eight bicycle thefts (not including that one, which they had on video), the most expensive of which cost over £2000, and got a suspended sentence.
Citizens are forming groups to track down stolen bicycles, finding the thieves and either taking the bikes back or buying them back. When the bike retrievers don't pay it isn't really explained how they persuade the thieves to part with the bikes. Some combination of threatening to go to the police and using big burly blokes who train I expect. Some individuals are spending thousands of pounds on drones, private investigators and national/international travel to retrieve the bikes.
More than 9,000 people given six to 12 months for shoplifting in past two years would now be made to do community service
www.theguardian.com
Shoplifters will benefit most from the government’s plans to impose a moratorium on jail sentences of less than 12 months in England and Wales, figures show.
Despite Rishi Sunak’s attempt to introduce tough sentences for criminals in the run-up to the general election, shoplifters, offenders convicted of battery, and those who have assaulted emergency workers, are the top three groups who will avoid prison under the government’s new measure.
Shoplifters account for more than one in eight offenders who will not face jail and who will instead receive a suspended sentence, the data shows.
In October the justice secretary, Alex Chalk,
set out measures for criminals facing jail sentences of under 12 months to receive suspended sentences and community service, as part of wider plans to tackle overcrowding in prisons across England and Wales.
Criminals will instead be punished with an order to take part in community payback schemes, which would include 'cleaning up our neighbourhoods and scrubbing graffiti off walls', he said.
Chalk added: “The taxpayer should not be forking out for a system that risks further criminalising offenders and trapping them in a merry-go-round of short sentences.”
Ministry of Justice data revealed by the justice minister, Edward Argar,
in response to a parliamentary question show that shoplifters received the most sentences that in future would be suspended. Last year 5,289 shoplifting sentences of less than a year were handed out, up from 3,848 in 2021.
Theft from shops – 3,848 / 5,289
Common assault and battery – 3,153 / 3,071
Assault or assault by beating of an emergency worker – 3,050 / 2,233
Breach of restraining order (Protection from Harassment Act 1997) – 2,221 / 2,477
Having an article with a blade or point in a public place – 2,089 / 2,346
Driving while disqualified from holding or obtaining a licence – 1,817 / 1,817
Burglary with intent in a building other than a dwelling – 1,392 / 1,868
Assaults occasioning actual bodily harm – 1,316 / 1,470
Production, supply and possession with intent to supply a class B drug – 1,249 / 1,330
Just because someone is stealing food or 'essentials' does not mean that they are for his family's consumption, or that he can't afford them. Even if he can't afford them, despite the generous benefits, subsidised housing and free healthcare in the UK, there are food banks, clothing banks etc. and they provide toiletries, nappies and so on, not just food. The article specifically mentions meat being stolen for resale and that is in the OP. Baby formula being stolen for resale and drug cutting is in the part that I didn't quote:
There have been many media reports of “ordinary” people stealing because of the cost of living crisis. This idea is rejected by many retail experts. The Association of Convenience Stores (ACS), the voice of more than 33,500 shops, regularly surveys its members and thinks shoplifting rates are at their highest since they began collecting data in 2012. But, contrary to many media reports, the rise is not due to people stealing “because they are desperate for food to feed their families”, says Chris Noice, ACS’s head of communications.
He highlights a story about baby formula kept behind tills at some branches of Co-op to stop them being stolen, which was seized upon by various campaign groups as evidence that the cost of living crisis was forcing parents to steal to nourish their babies. “Baby formula is targeted because it’s a high-value item, along with coffee, meat, cheese and alcohol,” says Noice. “It’s stolen to sell on, whether that’s in pubs or on Facebook. Typically, people are stealing to fund their drug or alcohol habits, and organised crime groups are often involved, too.”
There is a further benefit to stealing baby formula, according to another retail expert: it is used to cut, or bulk out, drugs before they are sold. Talking on the condition of anonymity, she rejects the idea that the cost of living crisis has turned decent people into thieves. “There’s this idea that good people turn bad over night and that’s just not how it works. When people are challenged, they go to food banks, they go to community pantries, they ask for help from friends and family. They don’t suddenly start shoplifting.”
He is currently claiming the UK has a real future in it's deal with Australia after Brexit....a deal worth around 4 pence per household after 10 years..and he is mixing it up with the submarine deal ...
The spate cost retailers around £1.8bn, a record sum, and the first time it has surpassed the £1bn mark, according to an annual survey by the British Retail Consortium (BRC).
news.sky.com
Shoplifting has hit a record high with 16.7 million incidents recorded last year - more than double compared with 2022.
The spate cost retailers about £1.8bn - also a record - and this is the first time it has surpassed the £1bn mark, according to an annual survey by the British Retail Consortium (BRC).
Violence and abuse against shop workers also spiked last year with about 1,300 incidents daily, a rise of 50% from 870 the year before.
About 8,800 of the total across the year resulted in injury.
The BRC said the situation had escalated to a 'crisis' and criticised the government's 'woefully inadequate' action to combat it.
Firms have attempted to curb the rise of crimes in their stores, spending about £1.2bn on measures like CCTV, increased security personnel and body cameras.
Helen Dickinson, the BRC's chief executive,
said despite the sums of money invested to prevent crime, violence and abuse against staff was 'climbing'.
She added: "Criminals are being given a free pass to steal goods and to abuse and assault retail colleagues. No one should have to go to work fearing for their safety. This is a crisis that demands action now."
Meanwhile, the head of John Lewis said shoplifting had become an 'epidemic' with a rise in organised gangs looting stores.
John Lewis is among 10 of the UK's biggest retailers that have agreed to fund a police operation to crack down on shoplifting, called Project Pegasus.
The companies are expected to pay about £600,000 towards the project, which will use CCTV images and facial recognition software to get a better understanding of shoplifting operations.
The Police Retail Crime Action Plan, launched in October 2023, has also signalled some 'hope' for the sector, the BRC said.
It includes a pledge for police to prioritise urgently attending the scene of shoplifting that has involved violence against a worker, or when a shoplifter has been detained.
The spate cost retailers around £1.8bn, a record sum, and the first time it has surpassed the £1bn mark, according to an annual survey by the British Retail Consortium (BRC).
news.sky.com
Shoplifting has hit a record high with 16.7 million incidents recorded last year - more than double compared with 2022.
The spate cost retailers about £1.8bn - also a record - and this is the first time it has surpassed the £1bn mark, according to an annual survey by the British Retail Consortium (BRC).
Violence and abuse against shop workers also spiked last year with about 1,300 incidents daily, a rise of 50% from 870 the year before.
About 8,800 of the total across the year resulted in injury.
The BRC said the situation had escalated to a 'crisis' and criticised the government's 'woefully inadequate' action to combat it.
Firms have attempted to curb the rise of crimes in their stores, spending about £1.2bn on measures like CCTV, increased security personnel and body cameras.
Helen Dickinson, the BRC's chief executive,
said despite the sums of money invested to prevent crime, violence and abuse against staff was 'climbing'.
She added: "Criminals are being given a free pass to steal goods and to abuse and assault retail colleagues. No one should have to go to work fearing for their safety. This is a crisis that demands action now."
Meanwhile, the head of John Lewis said shoplifting had become an 'epidemic' with a rise in organised gangs looting stores.
John Lewis is among 10 of the UK's biggest retailers that have agreed to fund a police operation to crack down on shoplifting, called Project Pegasus.
The companies are expected to pay about £600,000 towards the project, which will use CCTV images and facial recognition software to get a better understanding of shoplifting operations.
The Police Retail Crime Action Plan, launched in October 2023, has also signalled some 'hope' for the sector, the BRC said.
It includes a pledge for police to prioritise urgently attending the scene of shoplifting that has involved violence against a worker, or when a shoplifter has been detained.
- In a couple of years nobody will want to work as security also. And the people that suport this, are the ones that actually need a security team around them!
Funnily enough I was speaking to an ex colleague of mine about this recently, who has confirmed the massive rise is down to Romanian Roma. If they are challenged they will threaten shop staff, including the threat to follow them home and set fire to their houses.
He was telling me their custody block will be 30% Roma and Albanian every day of the week.
If there is no prosecution, there is no deterrent. In California, you can shop, fill your bag, and just walk the fuck out. People at the register look and just say WTF am I paying for? Prices get raised to cover the losses. Read the comments on videos and articles, and many people agree with the thieves. Obviously not normal upstanding citizens.
The clock had struck 6.35pm when seven young men barged their way into Riccado, a family-run men's fashion boutique in the wealthy West London neighbourhood of Chiswick.
www.dailymail.co.uk
The clock had struck 5.35pm when seven young men barged their way into Riccado, a family-run men’s fashion boutique in the wealthy West London neighbourhood of Chiswick.
Chiswick
Each wore a black, hooded top and had covered his face with a scarf or surgical mask. Having gained entrance to the premises, they swaggered to the back of the store and began aggressively pulling high-end puffer jackets off a clothing rack.
An eighth gang member, acting as the lookout, propped the glass front door open while keeping an eye on the increasingly terrified shop assistant.
It took exactly 40 seconds for his accomplices to finish ransacking the shop. Then they rushed outside and sprinted into the darkness of Chiswick High Road, carrying stolen clothing worth an astonishing £25,000-£30,000.
The raid, which took place shortly before closing time on Tuesday the 6th of February, is part of a dramatic crime wave that began sweeping through this ultra-fashionable corner of our capital city roughly six months ago.
Barely a day goes by without a fresh report of some feral gang striding into a local store and casually making off with thousands of pounds worth of stock. CCTV of their heists, including dozens of films obtained by the Daily Mail, show how they combine calculated menace with staggering impunity.
Thieves/robbers raid a shop
Just 48 hours before the raid on Riccado, three men strode into a branch of Boots 400 yards away and casually smashed a glass display cabinet holding perfume. They threw thousands of pounds-worth of scent into large holdalls before walking out.
"They did not bother to even cover their faces completely," says a witness, who uploaded footage to Facebook. "The security guard was cut and bleeding."
In January the local branch of Vision Express lost £8,000 worth of designer spectacles in a single raid. The previous month, a photography store called Chiswick Camera Centre announced that it was henceforth keeping stock in metal cages, after equipment worth £70,000 was taken in two robberies six months apart.
Almost every local clothing shop, including chains such as Whistles and Jigsaw, now operates a ‘locked door’ policy, in which shoppers must ring a bell to gain entry.
Many also now employ full-time security guards and have installed panic buttons under the till to allow terrified staff to summon help. Many stores roll down their shutters and close for business the moment darkness falls, having decided that it’s too dangerous to offer evening shopping.
Perhaps inevitably, a small but growing number of retailers, in what was once one of Britain’s most vibrant shopping streets, are deciding to board up their front windows and shut down for good. Only last week, menswear shop American Pie closed its doors for the final time.
In the chaotic moments after the raid on her store, Siobhan was telephoned by the traumatised shop assistant, one of seven people her business directly employs. She advised him to shut up shop and go home for the night to recover. The following morning she reported the incident to the police.
"I told them we had CCTV," she says. "You could clearly see the faces of some of the kids, so perhaps they could have found them. There would have been fingerprints all over the place as well, since none of them were wearing gloves. It was a big robbery, and we’d lost tens of thousands of pounds-worth of kit. So I expected someone to come round."
But instead of a helpful knock on the door from detectives, Siobhan received a return visit from the gang.
"Five of them came back in the middle of the following day. We had locked the door, and were only letting in customers who looked genuine, so they couldn’t get in. They stood outside, lurking around the trees."
This might have offered police a second chance to apprehend suspects. But again, officers failed to visit. The gang meanwhile began turning up on a regular basis, usually just as it was getting dark. Fearing that they might follow a genuine customer into the store, and once more steal huge quantities of stock, Siobhan began closing the premises each day at 4.30pm.
Eventually Siobhan heard back from the police on February 14, eight days after the original raid. Their response was extraordinary. ‘They called and said: “Do you want to do this over the phone, take a witness report?” she recalls. ‘I replied: “No, you need to come in.” The person calling went, “Yeah, I suppose it was a value item,” and I was like “are you kidding? This was a gang robbery! They took £30,000 worth of kit.”’
When the officers finally turned up, she was told that it was ‘too late’ to take forensic evidence (‘You don’t say!’) but Siobhan passed over a USB stick containing CCTV footage, taken from a number of cameras.
Given the Met’s evident lack of interest in doing the most basic detective work, the gang continued to loiter outside the boutique.
The police then promised to return the following morning to take a statement from the assistant who had witnessed the crime. But they never showed up. And although they had the man’s number, they failed to telephone him.
A day later an email pinged into the store’s inbox. It came from the Metropolitan Police, and the contents were scandalous.
‘An investigator … has looked carefully at your case and we are sorry to say that with the evidence and leads available it is unlikely that we will be able to identify those responsible,’ the message read. ‘We have therefore closed this case.’
Perhaps inevitably, given the Met’s evident lack of interest in doing the most basic detective work, the gang continued to loiter outside the boutique.
Things culminated last Thursday, when eight of them attempted to gain entrance, in scenes also recorded on CCTV, by trying to kick down the shop’s front door, damaging its frame and shattering glass.
‘We put the shutters down to stop them getting in, and I rang 999 and said a gang, who might be armed, was right now trying to break into my shop.’
Again, the report was met with an extraordinary response. ‘The operator told me that someone would be in touch in the next 48 hours. Did any police officer bother to come out? No.’
Siobhan isn’t alone. During our interview, she showed me a WhatsApp group called Shopwatch Chiswick, in which about 40 local retailers share photos and CCTV footage of shoplifting incidents to warn other stores. It showed that organised gangs are now targeting local stores on a daily basis.
Other recent heists reported in local newspapers include an August account of an incident at Jigsaw in which a rail of jackets and silk shirts worth £2,000 was taken. The store manager, Natalie, pressed a panic button but police took 45 minutes to turn up.
‘They said they had to come from Feltham because there’s no police facility here any more. By the time they arrived I had resolved everything and the police were just basically...laughing.’
Then there was an incident in September, in which a gang of four Romanian women walked into the upmarket yoga and leisure-wear store Sweaty Betty and swiped a suitcase from the window display. A 17-second CCTV clip shows how one woman's accomplices formed a sort of human chain, clearing stock from the shelves and passing it out the door. Police were called, but didn’t bother to visit. So that afternoon, the gang returned and stole more gear.
Then there was an incident in September, in which a gang of four Romanian women walked into the upmarket yoga and leisure-wear store Sweaty Betty and swiped a suitcase from the window display. A 17-second CCTV clip shows how one woman's accomplices formed a sort of human chain, clearing stock from the shelves and passing it out the door. Police were called, but didn’t bother to visit. So that afternoon, the gang returned and stole more gear.
The long and short of it is The Met do not prioritise theft offences as their resources are stretched dealing with offences against the person.
Serious assaults, rape and sexual offences, human trafficking, child abuse, slavery are all thriving in London. The county lines drugs gangs actively enslave underage girls and use them as sex slaves.
The UK has basically imported level after level of depraved criminality for years, Somalis, Romanians, Afghanis, Albanians, Jamiacans....the list goes on and on.
Many moons ago I used to get sent the weekly serious crime report by borough and it read like a horror story - these never make it into the news. One story, which took place in Tower Hamlets involved a male having his arms and legs hacked off in front of a school. It never even made the local news.
The long and short of it is The Met do not prioritise theft offences as their resources are stretched dealing with offences against the person.
Serious assaults, rape and sexual offences, human trafficking, child abuse, slavery are all thriving in London. The county lines drugs gangs actively enslave underage girls and use them as sex slaves.
The UK has basically imported level after level of depraved criminality for years, Somalis, Romanians, Afghanis, Albanians, Jamiacans....the list goes on and on.
Many moons ago I used to get sent the weekly serious crime report by borough and it read like a horror story - these never make it into the news. One story, which took place in Tower Hamlets involved a male having his arms and legs hacked off in front of a school. It never even made the local news.
Violence/Genocide: Do not condone violence or genocide on a person or group of people. You are free to attack a person or groups ideas but you are crossing the line when calling for violence. This will be heavily enforced in threads with breaking news involving victims.
This site uses cookies to help personalise content, tailor your experience and to keep you logged in if you register.
By continuing to use this site, you are consenting to our use of cookies.
www.theguardian.com
He is currently claiming the UK has a real future in it's deal with Australia after Brexit....a deal worth around 4 pence per household after 10 years..and he is mixing it up with the submarine deal ...
news.sky.com
