3 days ago
Shoplifting is the most visible manifestation of lawless Britain
The shoplifting epidemic does not help to foster the perception that the legal system is on the side of the law-abiding public. This frustration is apparently shared by some within law enforcement.
Katy Bourne, national lead for shoplifting at the Association of Police and Crime Commissioners, has pointed out that with prison ruled out as a punishment by the lack of places, there is currently 'no point arresting shoplifters if there is no effective deterrent'. This is certainly the case if we do not intend to incapacitate offenders by separating them from the general public.
It is an absurdity that police appear to have time to visit shopkeepers for signs criticising shoplifters even as the level of criminal activity soars and offences go unpunished. As Ms Bourne states, we seem to have reached a point where forces are 'more worried about upsetting career criminals than catching them'.
It is a phenomenon that many will feel has been replicated across the state by a Government which insists it holds the sole right to apply the law, and which often seems to fail to do so in any meaningful way. The paltry fine handed down to a migrant recently convicted of illegal working in the delivery sector merely served to emphasise that economic rationality weighs against the law-abiding in this field.
If the Government wishes to combat the impression that Britain is an increasingly lawless place, it should start by dealing with the most visible manifestations of disorder. And that, in turn, means taking shoplifting seriously.
