More action promised after police attend fewer than one in four shoplifting incidents
The policing minister has said she wants forces “to do far more” to tackle shoplifting after figures obtained by Sky News showed fewer than one in four incidents were attended to by officers in 2023.
Dame Diana Johnson blamed declining officer numbers under the previous government but also said she wanted to “see shop theft treated seriously…and the police need to play their part”.
She was reacting to figures obtained by Sky News under the Freedom of Information Act that reveal officers turning up to fewer and fewer incidents over the last decade.
Just 22% of shoplifting incidents were attended to immediately by police in 2023, based on responses from 22 of England’s 39 police forces.
In 2016, data from 17 forces gave an attendance rate of 52% – more than twice the 2023 figure.
While in 2013, figures from 11 forces suggested an attendance rate of 72% – more than three times higher than a decade later.
Looking at just the 2013 and 2016 data sets, a clear trend of declining attendance rates is seen.
Some of the police forces who responded to our request said this was because of modern more remote investigation techniques.
Others said that while officers may not always attend crime scenes immediately, they will often follow up at a later date if there are credible lines of enquiry.
However, store owners and workers have complained that a lack of police attention towards retail crime has created an atmosphere where criminals believe they can steal with few repercussions.
Earlier this year the British Retail Consortium said violence and abuse against retail workers had risen substantially to 1,300 per day in 2022/23.
Sky News has seen CCTV showing one shop worker in south London being threatened by three people on Christmas Day 2023.
The thieves steal scratch cards and spirits and attempt to assault a cashier, who fights back with what appears to be a spanner.
Another London store owner said he used to keep a baseball bat and pepper spray behind his counter, but was told to remove them by police.
“We can’t stop them, hold them or anything… shopkeepers are so vulnerable at the moment,” said Dennis Mariyaesan.
He also accused the police of not attending shop theft incidents and not taking the crime seriously enough.
Commander Owain Richards from the Metropolitan Police said: “Our call handlers will assess each and every report and make an assessment based on available lines of enquiry.”
Read more:
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A retail crime action plan was published by the National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) last year prioritising attendance to incidents where violence was involved or where an offender had been detained.
However, levels of shop theft have increased dramatically in recent years leading to pressure on police resources.
A spokesperson for the NPCC said: “We have made significant strides in our fight against retail crime, strengthening relationships with retailers and greatly improving information sharing which has resulted in a number of high harm offenders being brought to justice.”
Dame Diana told Sky News: “We know over the last year there’s been a 29% increase… in shop theft. That cannot go on, we need to take action and the police need to play their part.”
She also pointed to declines in officer numbers as a possible reason for the drop in attendance rates.
The police headcount fell by around 20,000 between 2010 and 2017 before rising again by 25,000 by 2023 amid a recruitment push launched under Boris Johnson.
The Labour government has pledged an additional 13,000 additional neighbourhood officers by 2029.
Sir Keir Starmer has also promised a “named, contactable police officer” in every neighbourhood and an axing of the 2014 law that means “low value” thefts of under £200 are subject to less serious punishments.
England star Jess Carter says she has been the victim of racist abuse online during the UEFA Women’s Euros in Switzerland.
The Lionesses defender, who has 49 England caps, said she will be “taking a step back from social media and leaving it to a team to deal with”.
In an Instagram post, the 27-year-old player said: “From the start of the tournament, I have experienced a lot of racial abuse. Whilst I feel every fan is entitled to their opinion on performance and result, I don’t agree or think it’s ok to target someone’s appearance or race.”
Jess Carter. Pic: PA
Carter said she was stepping back from social media to “protect myself in a bid to keep my focus on helping the team anyway I can”.
She added: “Hopefully speaking out will make the people writing this abuse think twice so that others won’t have to deal with it.”
Carter also said that England have made some “historic changes with the Lionesses squad” that she was “so proud” of, and she hopes that by speaking out about racial abuse “it will make another positive change for all”.
‘Abhorrent abuse’
The Football Association leadership has condemned the “abhorrent abuse” against Carter and has contacted UK police about it.
FA chief executive Mark Bullingham said in a statement: “Our priority is Jess and giving her all the support she needs. We strongly condemn those responsible for this disgusting racism.
“As soon as we were made aware of the racist abuse Jess received, we immediately contacted UK police. They are in touch with the relevant social media platform, and we are working with police to ensure those responsible for this hate crime are brought to justice.”
Carter during a training session in Switzerland. Pic: PA
The Lionesses said in a statement: “We stand with Jess and all Lionesses players past and present who have suffered racism.
“No one should have to endure such vile abuse, be that in football or any walk of life.”
They added: “Those behind this online poison must be held accountable.”
Anger and sadness
England teammate Lucy Bronze said there was “anger” and “sadness” among the squad following the abuse.
Bronze said: “I think we all know that any player of colour that’s played for England has probably gone through racist abuse. That’s a sad fact.”
She told Sky News’ sports correspondent Rob Harris that social media platforms need to be held more accountable.
Bronze added: “People need to be held accountable for their actions, whether it’s in-person or online. The abuse is not okay. Racism is not okay.”
Read more from Sky News:
Lionesses ‘very optimistic’ Williamson will be fit for semi-final
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The prime minister said on X that there was “no place for racism in football or anywhere in society”.
Sir Keir Starmer added: “I stand with Jess, the Lionesses, and any players who have suffered racism, on and off the pitch.”
Carter has started all four of England’s games at the tournament.
The defending champions face Italy on Tuesday night in Geneva in the Euros semi-finals. If they win and reach the final, they will play either Germany or Spain, who face each other on Wednesday.
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The Lionesses also said that until now, they have chosen to take the knee before matches.
“It is clear we and football need to find another way to tackle racism,” they said.
England won’t be taking the knee before semi-final
The Lionesses said they have agreed as a squad to remain standing before kick-off in the match against Italy.
“We hope the game can come together to see what more can be done.”
Kneeling, a symbolic anti-racism gesture, came to prominence in 2016 when NFL player Colin Kaepernick knelt in protest during the United States national anthem and became more widespread during the Black Lives Matter movement.
As head of football’s anti-racism body, there was dread for Sanjay Bhandari watching England’s Women’s Euros quarter-final with Sweden.
But that’s, grimly, how it always is. Concerned that black players will be singled out for blame. Not with a legitimate critique of their performances, but with toxicity and racism.
And now Kick It Out is working with the Football Association to support Jess Carter after the England defender spoke out over the abuse she has been targeted with throughout the Women’s European Championship.
The players want social media firms to do more, but Mr Bhandari, the Kick It Out chairman, is concerned by their limited approach to the scourge of online hate.
Jess Carter says she has been the target of racist abuse. Pic: PA
“The social media companies need to do far more,” he told Sky News. “They’ve actually gone backwards over the last four or five years, not forwards. It’s got worse on social media, not better.
“And they need to provide us with the tools to help keep us safe and to remove some of this toxicity from the platforms. They’re just not doing enough.
“I would say that X is the worst. It has become no-holds-barred.
“And with Instagram, it is much more in the direct messaging, and I think there needs to be much more done there to protect people from those messages.”
Meta, which owns Instagram, did not reply to a request for comment.
There was no response from an email sent to X’s press email address.
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‘People need to be held accountable’ after Euros racism
LinkedIn indicated that X’s UK managing director Jonathan Lewis’s account had seen a request for comment, but there was no response.
On Friday, Mr Lewis and Premier League club Burnley were celebrating a new partnership in an announcement that made no mention of the abuse that many players across the world face on X.
The hope is that the Online Safety Act will lead to social media firms implementing the safety tools required of them.
Mr Bhandari said: “They have to be enforced by law enforcement against individual perpetrators, and also the regulatory parts need to be forced against the social media companies to force them to do the things that they need to do.”
Grimly familiar situation
The FA reported the abuse suffered by Carter to police, and the hope is for speedy action because this is a grimly familiar situation.
After the men’s Euros final in 2021, Marcus Rashford, Jadon Sancho and Bukayo Saka were racially abused after missing penalties in the shootout defeat to Italy.
Bukayo Saka was among the England players targeted after missing penalties in the Euros final. Pic: Reuters
While players have been taking a knee against racism in men’s and women’s games, the Lionesses feel that is no longer enough at these Euros.
They will stand instead before the semi-final with Italy because they say a new approach is needed to tackle racism.
Read more from Sky News:
Lionesses ‘very optimistic’ Williamson will be fit for semi-final
Team went from sloppy to celebratory in nerve-shredding quarters
Carter didn’t just face racism around the quarter-final that England won on penalties after fighting back from 2-0 down against Sweden here in Zurich.
She has been subjected to abuse throughout the Euros.
“I’m really feeling for Jess and what’s sad is that this is shocking, but not surprising,” Mr Bhandari said.
“I watch every England game, at every tournament, with the fear that after the match, there’s going to be abuse of a black player using the spurious basis of performance as an excuse to justify unjustifiable racism. All racism is unjustifiable.
“The fact that someone’s had a good or bad game in your opinion does not justify that kind of racist abuse.”
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