‘There is no room in the prisons!’ Ex-superintendent says new laws ‘won’t make any difference’ to rise in shoplifting

Former Metropolitan Police superintendent Shabnam Chaudri has expressed scepticism about the effectiveness on a new law to protect shopkeepers.

People who attack shop workers are now facing tougher penalties thanks to new legislation as part of the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts (PCSC) Act and could face six month in prison for assault.

Chaudri pointed out that even though this will give another layer of protection to shop worker, she can’t see it being effective as there is “no room in the prisons.”

Speaking to GB News she said: “There are plenty of powers that police have available in their toolkit in order to prevent shoplifting.

“They’ve got banning orders, they’ve got on the spot fines. They’ve got public order offences, they’ve got burglary.

“Under this new legislation, you’re going to get a six month summary offence of going to prison.

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“Well, there is no room in the prison, so shoplifters are going to be the last on the list that are actually going to be sentenced because they don’t have any room.”

She added: “This piece of legislation, yes, it does protect shop staff, but actually I don’t think it’s going to make any difference to the shoplifters.”

Last year Labour pledged to end the controversial £200 rule on shoplifting, which was brought in by the Conservative government.

This policy allows theft of goods valued under £200 to be dealt with by post, rather than through more stringent measures.

Figures released at the end of 2023 showed the number of shoplifting offences recorded by police in England and Wales had risen to the highest level in 20 years.

The UK shop the Co-Op revealed this week that it has taken a hit £39.5million from theft and fraud in its shops in the first half of this year.

The company has spent £18m so far this year on measures to help protect staff in its food business, including rolling out body-worn cameras and fortified kiosks.

Matt Hood, managing director of Co-op Food, told the PA news agency: “It isn’t going away“

“The reality is that every day four of our colleagues are attacked, up 34 per cent on 2022, and scarily a further 115 of my colleagues will be seriously abused, up 37 per cent on two years ago.”

But he added: “The investments we are making are working – our colleagues feel safer and we’re making them safer.”