Met Chief says retailers must 'step up' to stop shoplifters
Businesses need to do more to catch shoplifters, the country’s most senior police officer has claimed
The head of the Metropolitan Police has said retailers need to "step up" and "do better" when it comes to helping the police catch shoplifters.
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Sir Mark Rowley said the retail sector was right to be "cross" with the police for failing to do enough to tackle store thefts two years ago, but said they have since "doubled down" on their efforts and have made progress.
The Met commissioner is now calling for stores to work with the police more, commenting that "this is a team game".
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Sir Mark said in London over the last year, the police have "really doubled down" on the issue of shoplifting, adding: "We're making a lot of progress, but I need to challenge back now to the retail sector. They now need to do better."
He recently told The Telegraph that the Met had dealt with one particular incident where private security staff had been messaging shoplifters or street robbers to tell them when it was "clear" and "helping them commit their criminality".
He said some stores have refused to pass on CCTV video or images of thieves to police, and others would refuse to let their staff have time off to provide witness statements to the police or attend court to give evidence.
Sir Mark also said some retailers have been "very supportive".
"They can give them time to give a statement and they will pay them work time to go to court. Others won't do any of that," he added.
"So if they're not prepared to roll up their sleeves as corporate victims, it's going to be tough for us to make progress."
The police chief said facial recognition technology meant police were able to identify shoplifters or robbers in at least 40% of cases when they had obtained CCTV images.
This was done by using the technology to check the picture of the individual against databases of offenders who had previously been arrested.
Shoplifting cases are currently down 4.4 per cent this year from April to December thanks to the Met’s efforts, Sir Mark said.
It comes as an extra 100 Met Police officers have been deployed to deal with offences like shoplifting and phone theft. Operation Baselife was launched as the Christmas season begins and more shoppers hit the highstreets.
Last month more than 140 people were arrested in just one week by the force across the West End as part of the operation.