Unacceptable levels of shop theft causing serious harm to society, says Lord committee

The Justice and Home Affairs Committee today (5) published a letter to the Minister for Policing, Crime and Fire Prevention, Dame Diana Johnson MP, highlighting how unacceptable levels of shop theft is causing serious harm to society.

After conducting an inquiry into retail crime, the committee finds that shop theft is an underreported crime that is not being effectively tackled, leading to a devastating impact on the retail sector and the wider economy. The Committee heard that there are almost 17 million incidents of shop theft annually, with few leading to an arrest and costing the retail sector almost £2 billion last year.

The nature of the offence has evolved from individualised offending to relentless, large-scale, organised operations accompanied by unprecedented levels of violence. Shop theft is now seen as a lucrative profit-making opportunity which is being exploited by organised criminal networks.

Pointing out that there is a widespread perception that shop theft is not treated seriously by the police, the Committee recognises the need for quicker reporting systems, better data collection and intelligence sharing between police forces across the UK.

The Committee welcomes the work of Pegasus, the new national scheme to tackle organised crime in the retail sector and recommends that existing schemes such as Business Crime Reduction Partnerships (linking police and local businesses) should all be part of a National Standards Accreditation Scheme.

Outlining the conclusion, the committee called for an urgent need to phase out the term shoplifting as it trivialises the crime. The Committee supports the plan to repeal the offence of “low-value shoplifting” and supports the creation of a standalone offence of assaulting a retail worker.

Improved reporting systems are required to enable retailers to report crime to the police quickly and easily, said the committee, recommending improving mechanisms for police and criminal justice systems to recognise and record when a crime has taken place in a retail setting.

The committee has also called on for "increased funding to community-based reoffending and rehabilitation initiatives" to help divert prolific drug and alcohol addicted offenders away from further offending.

Public awareness campaigns are needed to target the stolen goods market, stated the committee while expressing support for the introduction of regulations and best practice guidance for the use of facial recognition technology by private companies.

Welcoming the committee's findings and recommendation, ACS chief executive James Lowman said, “We strongly welcome the recommendations of the Committee which are sensible measures aimed at prioritising shop theft response both locally and nationally, as well as improving reporting rates. We know that millions of incidents of theft go unreported every year because retailers feel as though nothing will be done, which is a trend that we need to reverse or risk effectively decriminalising theft. Theft is a damaging crime, committed by organised groups that are stealing to order and take advantage of people struggling with the cost of living.

“We are looking forward to continuing working with the Home Office and Police and Crime Commissioners across the country to put in place the recommendations of the report and close the gap between reported crime and the reality of the situation in local shops.”

The Lords Committee has been considering the impact of shop theft on the retail sector since the end of the last parliament, hearing from different stakeholders involved in retail, academia and crime prevention on ways to improve reporting, reduce reoffending, and improve retailers’ confidence in the police.

ACS gave evidence to the Lords Committee in September of this year, sharing the experiences of members with reporting shop theft, the challenges of reporting crime, and the perceived lack of action from the police when thefts are reported to get repeat offenders off the streets.

In the Budget last week, the Chancellor announced that it was taking action to deal with the sharp rise in shop theft, providing additional funding to tackle the organised gang that target retailers.

The full Lords Committee report is available here