Fortnum and Mason ‘gives up on police catching shoplifters’

Fortnum and Mason has given up on calling the police to catch shoplifters, instead using private detectives and bringing their own prosecutions against thieves who have stolen from their stores, according to reports.

The upmarket department store, with shops in prime central London locations, has lost faith in the police amid fears the cost of living crisis is sparking a surge in shoplifting, according to reports in the Evening Standard.

The Metropolitan Police said businesses in the capital were “entitled to employ security companies to provide additional safety for themselves or their premises”.

“The Met works closely with these companies, as well as carrying out regular patrols in and around central London,” a spokesman added.

“Dedicated Safer Neighbourhood Teams work closely with partners such as the Business Improvement Districts and local businesses to keep the area a safe place to live, work and visit.”

Asked whether all reports of shoplifting were investigated, the Met said each reported theft was assessed “on a case-by-case basis” and that the use of private security in business and leisure settings was “very well established”.

Shoplifting is one of the most common but least prosecuted crimes and last month retailers including Sainsbury and Tesco called on police to do more to tackle it.

The British Retail Consortium linked a rise in shoplifting to increased levels of violence, abuse and anti-social behaviour against shop staff.

Home Office figures published in April revealed that shoplifting prosecutions had fallen to an all-time low. Just one in six (16.8 per cent) shoplifting offences reported to police resulted in a charge, nearly half the rate of 30.8 per cent five years previously.

It means between 200,000 and 300,000 offences are going unpunished each year, with thousands more not even reported to police.

But retailers will hope for a change in approach as Sir Mark Rowley, the new Met Commissioner,  puts together his plan to drive down crime in the capital. His reforms are aiming to restore trust and confidence in the force, with a renewed emphasis on tackling burglary and robbery.

He said he was “upset” that an attitude had been allowed to develop in which “there’s no point in ringing the police”.

“We have to be paying attention to a full range of crimes,” Sir Mark told the Sunday Times.

A strategy that the Met could look to emulate is the creation of shoplifting squads, a scheme introduced by Sussex Police which led to twice as many shoplifting offences being solved.

The retail crime unit of nine officers, led by a sergeant, is thought to be the first in the country dedicated solely to investigating shoplifting and building a database of prolific offenders. By creating a specialist unit, it meant officers were not being distracted by other tasks.

Kit Malthouse, the Education Secretary – who at the time was policing minister – wrote to every chief constable in September 2020 ordering them to stop effectively decriminalising thefts under £200 and that they “can and should” prosecute thieves who steal low-value items.

Mr Malthouse told The Telegraph: “Shoplifting is far from being a victimless crime. It can seriously damage our small businesses, and the thuggery that often comes with it can have a profound impact on victims as well as the wider community.”

“We are working to outsmart these petty criminals, and it is local initiatives like this one by Sussex Police which, alongside our world-beating GPS tagging of offenders, are key to making our streets safer.”

Chris Neilson, Sussex Police’s lead on business crime, said the scheme was creating a closer tie between businesses and officers.

“They have the connectivity into individual CCTV control rooms, the managers in the local stores. They build relationships and that then builds confidence. It also increases our capability to identify offenders. We focus on the prolific thieves committing the most offences and harm.”