It's up to the public to stand up to shoplifters, says police chief
Members of the public have a duty to stand up to shoplifters rather than relying on police, a policing chief has said.
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Matthew Barber, the Conservative Police and Crime Commissioner for Thames Valley, said tackling thieves was not solely a job for police.
He said: “If you’re not even going to challenge people, you’re not going to try and stop them, then people will get away with it. That’s not just about policing.
"That’s a bigger problem with society, people who [don’t do anything] – you’re part of the problem.”
It comes after the Information Commissioner’s Office told shopkeepers that putting up pictures of thieves in shop windows could violate the criminals’ data rights.
Read more: Police told to reveal ethnicity of suspects after cover up claims
Speaking at a meeting of the Thames Valley police and crime panel in June, Mr Barber said that “we should all be responsible citizens in our community.”
“If you’ve got someone in your store now stealing from you, call 999. Also ideally try and stop them leaving, don’t just stand there and watch, which a lot of people do, which frustrates me.”
His remarks were criticised as potentially ‘dangerous’ by Joshua Reynolds, the Liberal Democrat MP for Maidenhead.
Last week it was revealed that a store owner in North Wales who put up a sign criticising ‘scumbags shoplifting’ was told by police to consider changing the wording because it was offensive.
Rob Davies, a retro store owner who went viral for displaying the sign, urged Keir Starmer to have a meeting with him to tackle the issue.
Mr Davies put up a note in his shop in Wrexham that read: “Due to scumbags shoplifting, please ask for assistance to open cabinets.”
As a result, officers from North Wales Police attended and told him to take down the sign because it could cause offence or impinge on their rights under GDPR laws.
He said: "If you're offended by my sign, then you're obviously intending to steal from me or are stealing from me.
"I appeal to Keir Starmer to come and have a meeting with me or I'll come to you and tell me to my face and advise me how I should think."
He continued: It doesn't even have to be me. It could be a representative of shopkeepers in the UK."
Last Thursday at an Iceland supermarket in Clifton, Nottinghamshire, two women were attacked while challenging a suspected shoplifter.
The man put his hands around a woman’s neck and strangled her after she challenged him for putting items into his backpack.
A female member of staff then intervened, and he assaulted her as well.
Earlier this week, a man died after being restrained by another customer at a shop in Torpoint, Cornwall, where he had allegedly assaulted staff.
For the year ending this June, the Thames Valley region saw 7.7 incidents of shoplifting per 1,000 residents, compared to 7.4 in the year ending last December.