'Criminals feel untouchable - but we're clamping down on shoplifting'

Yahoo

8 hours ago

To every retail worker in our town — I want you to know that I'm on your side. You should not face abuse or theft, and I'm working to keep you safe.
I've worked in retail myself. I know what it's like. I've manned tills at Clinton Cards, sorted stock at a £1 shop, and spent six years on the shop floor at Woolworths. At the same time, I cleaned tables at McDonald's and served food at a concert arena.
Working two jobs at the same time — one in retail, the other in hospitality — taught me about making your way in the world. They gave me a wage I badly needed, growing up caring for disabled parents who were on a tight budget.
No wonder criminals feel untouchable. In the last year of the Conservative government, there were nearly 450,000 recorded shoplifting offences— up 100,000 in a decade. Now a new law will give the police powers to ban repeat shoplifters from high streets.
Assaulting shop workers will now be a new specific offence. The Government is scrapping the ridiculous £200 threshold for prosecution introduced by the Conservatives, which gave offenders free reign and let thousands of thefts go unpunished.
Just 431 penalty notices were issued under the Conservatives over the last decade — down 98% in a decade. Cautions fell by 87%, prosecutions halved. Now, enforcement can go up with a boost to neighbourhood policing. With more police, the new law can be enforced.
Thousands of extra officers will go on the beat nationally, including 40 locally and record backlogs are being tackled in the court system. The government is doubling magistrates' court sentencing powers to 12 months, freeing up to 2,000 days in the Crown Courts in addition to increasing sitting days in the Crown Court.
Because I've stacked shelves and stood behind tills, I know how serious this is. With my office on Boscombe High Street, I speak with retail workers daily. In my Talk with Tom events around the constituency, I speak with people concerned about retail crime. From talking with Dorset's Police Commissioner, I know he's also focused on retail crime.
I've been representing you, pushing the government to do more for workers and businesses. When nearly 17 million customer theft cases happened last year, costing businesses nearly £2 billion, stopping shoplifting is critically important. Every day, businesses are losing out on £5 million — pretty much the value of a house in Sandbanks.
Tackling shoplifting can help to restore a sense of responsibility and respect. It's part of the bigger job of clamping down on illegal, anti-social e-scooter and e-bike use, and the illegal, dangerous seafront parking we're now addressing with the London-style fines I've secured.
Very sadly, the town centre sits outside my constituency although it is huge concern to my constituents. I totally get the concerns of my constituents about crime across our town.
I believe in Bournemouth. We can be much safer. But it starts with backing the people who keep our high streets and services going. It means being on the side of retail workers, law-abiding residents, and everyone who just wants a safer town.