Starmer to call time on shoplifting ‘free-for-all’ as government pledges to make assaults on retail workers a criminal offence
The Government will also pledge to put an extra 3,000 neighbourhood police officers on the streets of the UK
Sir Keir Starmer is set to call time on what he calls a shop theft “free-for-all” as the government sets out plans to tackle shoplifting.
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The Prime Minister will set out proposals to boost neighbourhood policing and punishments for shoplifters on Monday, as the government outlines efforts to protect shop workers from violence with a specific criminal offence.
Sir Keir is expected to say: “Working people – grafters – go to work, do the right thing, keep our high streets thriving and yet too often they are abused or assaulted by people who think they can get away with it and just cheat the system. It’s disgraceful.”
Under the plans, the Government will pledge to put an extra 3,000 neighbourhood police officers on the streets of the UK, as well as scrapping effective immunity for thieves stealing goods worth less than £200.
It comes just days after Greggs unveiled 'fortress stores' in crackdown on shoplifting surge, with M&S's chairman also seen to blame self-checkouts for middle-class shoplifting.
“That was a shoplifters’ charter, and we’ve ended it.
“We’ve toughened up punishment too. We’re giving police stronger powers, making the abuse and assault of retail workers a specific crime and giving you the same protections as emergency workers,” the Prime Minister is expected to say.
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Under current laws - namely the Anti-Social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014, individuals found shoplifting goods totalling under £200 in value will see their crime categorised as a "low-value" summary-only offence.
Starmer will now set out a standalone offence in a bid to tackle a growing wave of shop thefts, tabling new legal framework in Parliament that will see the assault of a retail worker met with harsher punishments, introduced under the Crime and Policing Bill,
But the two Houses of Parliament are currently in a tussle over the final draft of the Bill as the end of the parliamentary session nears.
Almost 80% of shop workers said they experienced verbal abuse, more than half said they were threatened by a customer and 10% said they were assaulted in the latest annual survey by retail trade union Usdaw.
Last year, there were more than 500,000 incidents of shoplifting – down 1% on the previous year, but the drop may reflect a change in how such offences are recorded.
Offences where someone has entered a retail premises, steals, then either uses or threatens violence against staff or other people should be classed as robbery of business, police forces were advised in April last year.
This may account for the steep increase in the number of such robberies recorded, which rose 78% to 26,158 in 2025.
Joanne Thomas, Usdaw general secretary, said the incoming legislation delivers “much-needed protection of retail workers’ law”.
She said: “While there has been a welcome small decrease in shoplifting across last year, the fact is retail crime continues to be a significant issue for the sector and particularly staff.
“Usdaw’s last survey found that this is in no way a victimless crime, with two-thirds of attacks on retail staff being triggered by theft or armed robbery.
“Having to deal with repeated and persistent offences can cause issues beyond the theft itself, like anxiety, fear and physical harm to retail workers.”
Ministers are working with police and the sector on efforts to combat retail crime, and the Government has invested £5 million in a specialist policing intelligence unit called Opal that aims to identify the most harmful offenders and disrupt shoplifting gangs.