M&S boss claims police ‘aren’t ‘ in shoplifting | UK | News | EUROtoday

The chairman of grocery store Marks and Spencer has slammed the police and claimed they “aren’t interested” in shoplifting offences within the UK.

Speaking on LBC this morning, Archie Norman claimed that M&S workers obtain “very little help from the police” and that the corporate has needed to put money into different methods to observe the issue.

Mr Norman defined that M&S now had “store detectives” alongside superior cameras and different types of know-how to allow them to “intervene” if essential.

His feedback come as figures launched present that shoplifting offences have elevated within the UK by 37 p.c.

The figures revealed that within the yr ending 2023, there have been 430,104 offences in comparison with 315,040 offences the earlier yr.

Mr Norman instructed Nick Ferrari: “We get very little help from the police. I mean, I think we have to accept the police are not interested in this sort of crime anymore.”

Mr Norman added that he believed shoplifting could possibly be linked to different sorts of crime. He defined: “When people are hard up, or particularly when there’s a growth in other forms of crime, particularly drugs-related crime, then… one way of financing it is to go and steal from shops.”

Alongside Mr Norman, MD of Co-op Food, Matt Hood, and chairman of ASDA Lord Stuart Rose have additionally criticised the shoplifting disaster within the UK.

Mr Hood mentioned: “We are seeing far too many prolific offenders persistently steal large volumes of products, in our shops every day, and, if they are stealing to fund addictions, the situation often becomes volatile and dangerous.

“Crime is an occupation for some – it is not petty crime, and it is not victimless. It is imperative MPs don’t turn their backs on shopworkers, and vote through the amendment to the Criminal Justice Bill to give my colleagues the protection they deserve.”

Lord Rose claimed earlier this yr that police weren’t answering his calls. He defined: “The authorities just do not take shoplifting seriously. 40 years ago when I was a manager at Marks and Spencer Marble Arch, the police would turn up. Now they don’t even answer the telephone.

“The costs are soaring. The numbers are scary. We have to cover the costs. Margins are down to historic lows. We are a very efficient industry trying our best to help customers.”

Furthermore, Professor Emmeline Taylor from City, University of London, has additionally slammed the shoplifting scenario within the UK, the police’s response to it and set out a sequence of suggestions in a brand new report.

Professor Taylor mentioned: “The police in England and Wales have lost grip on the scale and severity of the acquisitive crime, and, in turn, retailers have lost confidence in them and the wider criminal justice system.

“My report sets out ten actionable recommendations to turn the tide on the current tsunami of shop theft.

“By taking decisive action to tackle high-volume, high-impact retail crime, the police and retail industry can work together to create safer communities in which to live, work and shop.”