Why is the public being asked to police itself?

Despite rising levels of phone theft, shoplifting and other so-called ‘low-level’ crime, the authorities are seemingly sending an ominous message to the public: the problem’s on us. It’s as if the police have simply given up tackling many of the crimes we care about most.

Take the latest comments from Matthew Barber, the Conservative Police and Crime Commissioner for the Thames Valley, who apparently believes tackling thieves is partly the public’s responsibility. Addressing the rise in shoplifting, Mr Barber 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”.

Is a shopper who stands back while a thief in a balaclava raids their local corner shop really ‘part of the problem’? Is Mr Barber genuinely advocating that members of the public attempt citizens' arrests in the middle aisle of Aldi? And what if such an intervention resulted in serious injury to the brave vigilante in question? Would they also be to blame for their trip to the hospital ward?

Yet when the public does take the fight to shoplifters, a very different message is heard. 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. On Monday, the UK’s data watchdog said shopkeepers mustn't put up photos of suspected shoplifters in stores as it could breach their rights under GDPR laws. It’s almost as if those who complain about shoplifting statistics reaching a 20-year high are an inconvenience to the authorities.

Let’s take another issue: phone theft, which increased by 153% in the year ending March 2024 according to the Crime Survey. Last week, the electronics retailer Currys - with support from the Metropolitan Police - launched a campaign called ‘Mind the Grab’. It encourages shoppers on Oxford Street to keep their phones hidden, for fear of becoming one of London’s tens of thousands of annual phone theft victims.

My phone was snatched outside Oval tube station last November, so I’m not against public awareness campaigns - but why should the onus be on shoppers to keep their phones safe, and not on the police to target the criminals responsible? No one in New York feels afraid to use their phone while walking down Fifth Avenue, so why should we accept a situation in which using a mobile on Oxford Street is officially discouraged by the Met? Again, the onus is being placed on the public, not the police.

And then there’s the issue of sexual assault on public transport. A viral TikTok post compares the approaches taken in Singapore and London. On Singapore’s MRT, trains carry posters reading “if you molest, we will arrest” - a firm, clear message to would-be offenders. On London’s tube network, by contrast, TfL posters tell victims to “distract” their attacker with a question - with no message whatsoever to the actual perpetrators of the crime. Should we really be surprised, therefore, that sexual offences on public transport in Singapore are falling, whereas in London they’re going up?

From shoplifting to sexual harassment, the increasing implication from authorities is that it’s up to the public to police itself. No wonder trust in policing is through the floor.

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Listen to James Hanson on LBC every Sunday morning between 4-7am and LBC News every Monday-Thursday between 7-10pm.

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