BRAZEN shoplifters are being set free by courts to offend again, a policing chief has said.
Katy Bourne described it as “madness” how often they had to be arrested before ending up behind bars.
Facebook / Sussex Police and Crime CommissionerKaty Bourne described it as ‘madness’ how often they had to be arrested before ending up behind bars[/caption]
Ms Bourne, the national lead for shoplifting at the Association of Police and Crime Commissioners, said: “People have got to know that they’re going to get caught and that there’s a meaningful deterrent when they do it. There is no point arresting shoplifters if there is no effective deterrent.”
Launching a scheme to electronically tag thieves, she insisted only “meaningful criminal justice measures” would stop the huge rise in shoplifting blighting Britain’s high streets.
Her comments came after The Sun revealed gangs of migrant shoplifters were targeting London’s Oxford Street.
We also exposed thieves stripping shelves bare at Greggs stores across the county.
Theft from shops hit a record high last year, with the number of offences topping 500,000 for the first time, up 20 per cent from 2023.
Ms Bourne, police and crime commissioner for Sussex, said: “What on earth has happened to our high streets and our city centres? Why do some people feel they can rob shops with impunity and abuse and assault staff without any fear of retribution?”
She told the Daily Telegraph: “If prison is not an option — and I think it should be but at the moment it clearly isn’t as there are no places — then we’ve got to find credible alternatives.”
She said Sussex would have the first electronic tagging scheme for shoplifters having struggled to get such a scheme rolled out nationally.
She also criticised the use of data protection laws to advise shopkeepers not to share images of suspected offenders.
It comes after police spoke to a shopkeeper in Wrexham, North Wales, over his sign about “scumbag shoplifters”.
She commented: “How have we got to the point where police forces are more worried about upsetting career criminals than catching them?”
Boots is stashing medical products, including fertility supplements, behind counters amid the shoplifting epidemic.
And an alarm sounds if a bar of chocolate is picked up at some Sainsbury’s stores.
Metropolitan PoliceShoplifters are caught on camera in Greggs[/caption] Published: [#item_custom_pubDate]
