Policing minister Chris Philp has urged the wider public and shop staff to use “the power of citizen’s arrest” where it’s safe to do so in a case of store theft.
Although Philp said he wants “faster and better police response” to shoplifting, he added that they “can’t be everywhere,” The Times reported.
As a result, he said that retailers should instruct their security guards to intervene when they can as under section three of the Criminal Law Act 1967, a member of the public “may use such force as is reasonable in the circumstances in the prevention of crime, or in effecting or assisting in the lawful arrest of offenders or suspected offenders or of persons unlawfully at large”.
This comes as figures from the British Retail Consortium show violence and abuse towards retail workers have doubled in the last four years, with around eight million reported incidents of theft in the 12 months to March 2023.
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Philp has praised a move by Co-op to recruit undercover guards to patrol its shop floors, which have been trained to confront and hold shoplifters until the police arrive on the scene.
However, this came as a Freedom of Information request by the convenience retailer found that police failed to respond to 71% of serious retail crimes reported.
Other supermarkets including Aldi, Morrisons and Tesco have begun offering staff body worn cameras, while Tesco has also recently introduced new protective screens at hundreds of its Express stores and petrol station kiosks.
Speaking at an event hosted by the Policy Exchange think tank at the Conservative party conference, Philp said: “I would also just remind everyone that the wider public, including shop staff and security guards, do have the power of citizen’s arrest.
“Where it’s safe to do so I would encourage that to be used, because if you do just let people walk in and take stuff and walk out without proper challenge, including potentially a physical challenge, then it will just escalate.”
