I stood up to shoplifters in Tesco. It ruined my life

Yahoo

15 hours ago

When Emilie Martin reported a gang of shoplifters at a Tesco in Hackney for stealing, she had no idea she would be dealing with the fallout for the next decade.
Ms Martin, then 29, noticed a group of teenagers stealing sandwiches and, seeing there was no security guard, she approached the store manager and informed them of the theft.
The staff member said there was nothing they could do and admitted the gang raided the east London store on a near-daily basis.
What Ms Martin did not know was that the gang had overheard her.
Walking outside, Ms Martin, an event manager, was surrounded by the teenagers, sprayed with a drink, and when she threatened to call the police, she was punched in the face.
Last week, Matthew Barber, the Police and Crime Commissioner for Thames Valley, called for the public's help in tackling shoplifters.
After seeing his comments, Ms Martin, now 39, felt she had to speak up and let the public know what the realities of standing up to criminals could be like.
Ms Martin, who was assaulted in 2015, said she has been left with ongoing health issues and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and was constantly re-traumatised during her four-year fight to receive a small amount of compensation.
Ms Martin's attackers have never been caught. She claims the Metropolitan Police showed 'little concern' and that Tesco claimed CCTV footage of the incident had been 'lost in a technical error'.
She said: 'The punch left me with permanent scarring, breathing problems, and the need for two operations on my eye and nose, plus another still pending after 18 months on an NHS waiting list.
'The physical injuries were only the start. I was diagnosed with PTSD, yet NHS mental health support has been a mirage: goalposts moved, waiting lists closed, and promises broken.'
Ms Martin sought compensation from the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority (CICA) in 2017, but her claim was initially rejected, forcing her to go through two tribunal hearings.
Six years after the assault, in June 2021, she was finally awarded £3,480.
She said: 'Ten years on, I have been failed by every system meant to protect and support victims: the police, the justice system, the CICA, the NHS, and Tesco. On the night of the attack, I wasn't even offered an ice pack, let alone an apology.'
Ms Martin said she understood the point Mr Barber was trying to make, and agreed that the public had a role to play in fighting the shoplifting epidemic.
She said: 'The thing is, I agree with the principle of what Mr Barber is saying. I do think that apathy from society towards shoplifters is dangerous and unhealthy.
'But I also think that when people do stand up, a safety net for the victims, for those who do the right thing, has to be there and has to work.'
Addressing Mr Barber in an open letter, she said: 'So, when you tell the public to intervene in shoplifting, I have to ask: do you understand what you are asking of us?
'Do you believe that, had you experienced what I have, you would still stand by those remarks?
'Where is the protection, the justice, the support for those who pay the price for acting as you suggest?
'I am not writing this to say 'don't stand up to crime.' I am writing to say: if you truly want the public to take that risk, then you must first guarantee that the police, the justice system, and victim support structures will not abandon them.
'Right now, I would not, because I know exactly what 'standing up' can cost, and I have paid that bill in full.'
Mr Barber said the 'experience that Emilie suffered in London 10 years ago is horrific and has understandably lived with her ever since'.
He said: 'It highlights why we need to do everything we can to reduce crime, particularly crimes such as shoplifting, which are not victimless as people sometimes think.
'Sadly, in Emilie's case, it appears that people just looked the other way and didn't try to help. A situation that I don't think anyone would want to be in.'
Mr Barber added: 'It is for the police to cut crime and catch criminals, but it is for all of us to make sure we don't live in a society where people just look the other way and don't help those in distress.'
'Let down trying to do the right thing'
Ms Martin said that, given her experience, she would not confront shoplifters again.
She said she now suffers from chronic sinusitis as a result of the attack and has been waiting 18 months for an operation.
Her PTSD, Ms Martin said, left her constantly on high alert and extremely anxious in certain situations.
She said that reading reports about violent shoplifting gangs on an almost daily basis was also triggering.
'Tesco and Hackney Central are a bit of a no-go for me any more. If I see a group of teenage boys, I can't help it, I have to cross the road and get away from them. I am very nervous in supermarkets.
'If I was attacked, I don't feel as though I would be taken seriously or anything would happen.'
This is only the second time Ms Martin has spoken publicly about her ordeal since it happened and she said she wanted other people who might be in similar situations to know that they were not alone.
'That is what worries me. Who knows how many people have had similar experiences and have been let down after trying to do the right thing.'
A Metropolitan Police spokesman said: 'This was investigated thoroughly at the time and regrettably, we were unable to identify a suspect.
'The Met Police is working to support shopkeepers and tackle theft in the capital, this year solving 163 per cent more shoplifting cases than in the same period last year.
'If you see criminal activity taking place please call the police on 101 or 999 in an emergency.'
Ms Martin said she wanted her case to lead to changes in the way the CICA deals with victims and for mandatory CCTV retention from large retailers like Tesco, or penalty fines, in cases involving violence.
Analysis by The Telegraph has revealed that more chronic shoplifters and thieves are walking free than ever before.
Almost six in 10 prolific thieves – defined as having at least 15 previous convictions – avoided prison last year, the highest proportion since Ministry of Justice records began more than a decade ago.
Just 41.3 per cent received a custodial sentence, down from 46.4 per cent the previous year.
Last week, Katy Bourne, the national lead for shoplifting at the Association of Police and Crime Commissioners, warned that there was no point in arresting shoplifters if courts keep setting them free without preventing offenders from carrying out further crimes.
Sir Keir Starmer has made tackling shoplifting a priority for his Government, pledging to introduce laws that require police to investigate even if the goods stolen are worth less than £200.
Ms Bourne's intervention came after police in North Wales provoked a huge public backlash when a shop owner was spoken to for putting up a sign calling shoplifters 'scumbags'.
The Prime Minister later said that he personally would not refer to shoplifters using the term.
A Government spokesman said: 'We understand the devastating impact of shop theft on retailers. Since Ms Martin applied for compensation in 2017, we have improved how victims apply for compensation with a better online system and improved training for staff so the process is more straight-forward.
'Our landmark Crime and Policing Bill will also end the effective immunity for theft of goods under £200 and bring in a specific offence for assaulting retail workers, while the Tackling Retail Crime Together Strategy is gathering data to better target and respond to perpetrators.'
Tesco has been approached for comment.
Solve the daily Crossword