Fury over 200,000 unsolved shoplifting cases as Tories 'let gangs off the hook'

26 December 2023 , 22:30

970     0

Ministers are under growing pressure to address rising shoplifting cases

More than 200,000 shoplifting cases went unsolved last year as Tories failed to deal with a "growing crime epidemic", it has been revealed.

Analysis of Home Office figures reveal that over 500 cases a day were closed without a suspect being identified in England and Wales. This is a 32% increase from the previous year and a five-year high.

Just one in seven such cases resulted in a suspect being charged or summonsed, Home Office data shows. Latest figures show 205,676 shoplifting cases were dropped in the year to July. During that time 362,809 cases were reported to police.

Since 2019 there have been 843,406 shoplifting cases closed without a suspect being identified, the Lib Dems found. Ministers face calls to invest in frontline policing rather than "gimmicks" in order to tackle organised gangs behind rising thefts. A new shoplifting taskforce will receive £30,000 a year from the Government - but the Lib Dems said this amounts to just 7p per offence.

The British Retail Consortium (BRC) estimates there were eight million shoplifting cases in the year to March. And trade union Usdaw said three quarters of shop staff faced abuse at work.

Teachers, civil servants and train drivers walk out in biggest strike in decade

Lib Dem Home Affairs spokesman Alistair Carmichael said: “As unsolved shoplifting soars across the country, organised criminal gangs are being let off the hook while shopkeepers are left vulnerable. Yet again, this Conservative government is totally failing to tackle a growing crime epidemic."

He said the Government has "decimated" community policing and said: “We already know what works to stop crime - it’s not task forces and gimmicks, it’s putting police back on the beat and ensuring that crimes are properly investigated. If the Conservative party was serious about stopping shoplifting, they would give up the gimmicks and invest in frontline policing instead.”

The Mirror is campaigning for the law to be changed to protect shop workers. We want police to investigate all shoplifting incidents, reversing Tory laws which downgraded the theft of goods worth less than £200 to a minor offence.

We are also calling on the Government to restore the number of Police Community Support Officers so they can patrol our high streets. The number of PCSOs has fallen from 16,814 in 2009 to 8,263.

Ministers are also urged to address the underlying causes of shoplifting by tackling the cost of living crisis and providing more support for people with addiction and poor mental health.

Dave Burke