Make a citizen's arrest: The public should tackle shoplifters as police 'can't be everywhere,' minister says
4 October 2023, 06:37 | Updated: 4 October 2023, 10:46
Undercover officers swoop in on 'thieves' in Waltham Abbey
Members of the public who spot shoplifters in action should use their power of citizen’s arrest, even if they have to use force, the policing minister has said.
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Chris Philp has urged members of the public to step in when they see thieves shoplifting by making citizen’s arrests.
He also called on retailers to instruct their security guards to intervene when it is safe to do so.
Speaking at a fringe event hosted by the Policy Exchange think tank at the Tory Party conference, Mr Philp said: “The wider public do have the power of citizen’s arrest and, where it’s safe to do so, I would encourage that to be used because if you do just let people walk in, take stuff and walk out without proper challenge, including potentially a physical challenge, then again it will just escalate.
“While I want the faster and better police response, the police can’t be everywhere all the time.”
It comes after video footage emerged of a group of undercover investigators tackling suspected shoplifters in a Tesco car park.
Under section 3 of the Criminal Law Act 1967, a person “may use such force as is reasonable in the circumstances in the prevention of crime, or in effecting or assisting in the lawful arrest of offenders or suspected offenders or of persons unlawfully at large.”
It comes after figures earlier this year revealed that there has been a 26 per cent rise in shoplifting in the last year, according to the British Retail Consortium.
Read more: Police to use 'game-changing' facial recognition tech to check thieves against passport databases
In Co-op stores, shoplifting has reached record levels, with an average of nearly 1,000 incidents each day in the first half of this year - an increase of 35%.
Police have been accused of failing to take the crime seriously as figures show in the 12 months to march that forces recorded 339,206 cases of shoplifting.
Reports suggest that a total of £1bn is being stolen from stores each year and an extra £700m is being spent on security measures in these retailers.
Physical assaults on front-line store workers have risen 30% year-on-year, with anti-social behaviour and verbal abuse rising by a fifth (20%).
Mr Philp also hailed supermarket chain the Co-op for training security guards and staff in its stores how to intervene against thieves.
Alex Norris, the shadow policing minister, hit out at Mr Phil’s comments, as he said his comments were “inviting more violence against shop workers”.
Priti Patel speaks to Nick Ferrari on theft from shops
He said: “Under this Tory government shop theft has hit epidemic levels and violence against shop workers has risen to a disturbing 850 incidents every single day.
“With 10,000 fewer neighbourhood police on the beat and in our town centres, the Tories are totally failing to enforce the law or keep our town centres safe.
“Rather than offering serious suggestions to get police back on the beat, the minister is inviting even more violence against shop workers by calling for citizen’s arrests, while making pie-in-the-sky promises about databases when the Tories have still failed to upgrade the police national computer which is 50 years old.
“The Tories are just making it up as they go along but communities are paying the price.”
It comes after Mr Philp announced on Monday that he will be asking police to check the facial images of criminals against the Home Office’s passport and immigration records.
He said the move could be a “game-changer” in the crackdown on such crimes by using advanced facial recognition technology.
“I’m going to be asking police forces to search all these databases not just for shoplifting but for crime generally,” Mr Philp said.
“It could be game-changing.”
