Police 'won't investigate shoplifters at Co-op unless the boss knows their name'

30 July 2023 , 18:22

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Richard Inglis's shops have been plagued by shoplifters and anti-social behaviour recently (Image: BNPS)

The owner of three Co-op franchise stores claims police will not investigate shoplifting offences unless there is clear CCTV and he knows the criminal's full name.

Richard Inglis, who is director of a number of Co-op branches, also says officers will only probe offences if the value of the goods taken is £200 or more. One of his employees recently suffered a gruesome head wound in an attack in a supermarket. But Hampshire Police says they do not have a set criteria for shoplifting offences. The force stressed the importance of probing remains "all incidents of shoplifting and associated assaults".

Charlene Corbin decided to share pictures of her gruesome injury to highlight the danger retailers face (BNPS)

Charlene was bottled by a shoplifter when she was at work (BNPS)

Mr Inglis, who operates three Co-ops in Hampshire, argued the "burden of proof" is extremely tough to meet for supermarkets and other retailers. The business owner continued: "It used to be a police officer would have come down, taken a statement and CCTV. But as they have cut back on resources we have to do our own statements now and upload the CCTV to a system and those cases are then reviewed. The burden of proof we have to provide now is so extreme.

"I have been told by the police that the value of the stock has to be over £200 and if I don't know their name and don't have a clear shot of their face on CCTV then it won't get to court. If not they will take it as a report but would mark it up as no further action, then it just becomes a statistic but nothing is going to be done. They basically told me it's not the right use of resources.

"Most of the police we deal with want to do more but they know it's a waste of their time if it just gets filed further up the line or if it gets to court and the court don't do anything. They've decriminalised these things and that has caused it to increase, there's no deterrent."

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CCTV shows further anti-social behaviour at one of Mr Inglis' Co-op supermarkets in Hampshire (BNPS)

Charlene Corbin, who works at a Co-op in neighbouring Dorset, shared images of her gaping head wound after she was bottled while confronting a thief. The 28-year-old woman went to stop a thief she saw attempting to steal a hot pastry and two bottles of alcohol, but Ms Corbin was bottled.

"I grabbed my head and went back inside the store. I started to feel slightly faint and then I fell to my knees. I took my hand off my head and realised I was bleeding. I felt it trickling all down my neck and chest - my work shirt was red with blood," Ms Corbin said. "In the two years I've worked there, we've had staff pushed and spat at, smacked. It shouldn't be happening. Since this incident I completely stay out of the way of shoplifters now and I worry about colleagues putting themselves in danger. We don't feel safe."

A spokesman for Dorset Police said a 22-year-old man had been arrested on suspicion of inflicting actual bodily harm and released on bail pending further enquiries. In response to Mr Inglis' claims, Chief Inspector Chris Douglas, from Hampshire Police, denied they have a set criteria for shoplifting offences.

He said: "We do not make decisions based on the value of items stolen, although this does form a part of our risk assessment. We assess crimes based on balancing threat, risk and harm to the community or individual. It remains very important for all incidents of shoplifting and associated assaults to be reported to us so that we can identify crime patterns and offenders.

"I would like to reassure local communities and business owners that we do take reports of these types of incidents seriously. We will always investigate where there are viable and legitimate lines of enquiry available to us. We do appreciate the emotional, physical and financial impact that these types of offences can have, not only on those employed by local businesses, but the businesses themselves and also the wider community."

Bradley Jolly