Labour’s plans to axe the £200 rule on shoplifting has been backed by the British Retail Consortium (BRC) following a surge in thefts sweeping across stores throughout the nation.
Current laws, introduced in 2014, state that anyone charged with the theft of items worth less than £200 does not need to attend court, a ruling the shadow home secretary Yvette Cooper has pledged to remove to curb the rampant cases of shoplifting and abuse to retail workers.
“Our town centres should be the beating heart of our communities. Instead, we've got local shops chaining fabric conditioner to shelves, putting security tags on packs of cheese and butter to fend off organised gang raids,” the MP said at a Labour party conference on Tuesday.
“A law brought in by the Tories means shop thefts under £200 aren’t investigated even if the same gang comes back time and again… We will end the rule to tackle the shoplifting gangs.”
Helen Dickinson, chief executive officer of the BRC, welcomed the plans, claiming that over 850 incidents of violence or abuse occur every single day, costing the industry £1 billion a year.
She said in a statement: “We need action to protect our retail colleagues. We need a standalone offence to improve the visibility of the issue, so that police can allocate appropriate resources to the challenge, and to act as a deterrent to would-be offenders.
“This would also send a clear message that this behaviour will not be tolerated. Everyone has the right to feel safe at work.”