Met Police attend less than half of shoplifting incidents in past year

Met Police attend less than half of shoplifting incidents in the past year, figures reveal, as offending blows £1 billion black hole in UK high streets

  • The force sent officers to just 38 per cent of incidents during 2022/23 

Scotland Yard attended less than half of shoplifting incidents in the last year, despite soaring offending blowing a £1billion annual black hole in Britain’s high streets.

The force sent officers to just 38 per cent of incidents during 2022/23, the lowest attendance rate in five years, new figures show.

Of the 10,654 reports of shoplifting in the capital that year, officers attended just 25,260, data obtained by the Liberal Democrats reveals.

There were 21,266 shoplifting calls the previous year, with the Met sending officers to 8,762.

The figures show Britain’s biggest police force has begun to send officers to more shoplifting incidents, attending 44 per cent of reports made from April to September this year.

Scotland Yard attended less than half of shoplifting incidents in the last year, despite soaring offending blowing a £1billion annual black hole in Britain’s high streets (Stock image)

But campaigners have warned that a reluctance to go to every incident has made business owners feel like shoplifting has become decriminalised, with the Home Office recording 1,000 daily offences across the country.

Liberal Democrat London Assembly member Caroline Pidgeon said retail staff were often put in harm’s way while coping with the shoplifting epidemic.

‘There is no such thing as victimless crime, and while shoplifting may officially be considered a ‘low-level offence’ it does cause a huge amount of damage to our local businesses, especially when profit margins are tight and can leave victims of altercations scarred and anxious for years to come,’ she added.

‘We need to see a proper return to community policing and the Met responding to more shoplifting cases.’ A spokesman from the force said that under the new Met for London Plan police bosses are collaborating with retailers to improve the safety of shop workers and tackle shoplifting.

They added: ‘While it is not realistic for the Met to respond to every case of shoplifting in London due to demand, where a crime is being committed, a suspect is on the scene, and the situation has or is likely to become heated or violent, our call handlers will assess this and seek to despatch officers where appropriate.

Liberal Democrat London Assembly member Caroline Pidgeon said retail staff were often put in harm’s way while coping with the shoplifting epidemic (Stock image)

‘A London-wide roll-out of Operation Retail, a successful pilot allowing more effective and stream-lined reporting of shoplifting where no offender has been detained or violence occurred, will be taking place in the autumn.’ The alarming figures come after it emerged this week that hundreds of vulnerable women and children are being trafficked to Britain to shoplift for Eastern European gangs.

And police also warned shoppers yesterday to avoid buying bargain designer products as Christmas gifts, after £1million worth of counterfeit goods were seized during raids in Camden, north London.

City of London Police seized 4,000 counterfeit items from four shops on Tuesday, including fake football shirts, designer bracelets worth £400,000 and £20,000 worth of trainers.

City of London Police detective inspector Andrew Masterson said: ‘Selling counterfeit goods is illegal, and we ask the public to think twice before buying bargain products as gifts in the run up to Christmas. While the cheaper price of these goods can be appealing, the reality is that counterfeiting can be a gateway to fund other organised crime.’

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