Food worth £900k stolen from health store each year

Richard Fowler, Planet Organic's head of security, says some shoppers feel "entitled" to steal from the chain

The head of security at a chain of health food shops in London has said the company loses "£900,000 a year" from shoplifting.

Richard Fowler, from Planet Organic, said some shoppers feel "entitled" to steal from the chain because they shop there regularly.

It comes as the government vowed to overhaul the police response to shoplifting under the value of £200 as part of a new crime bill.

More than 57,000 shoplifting offences were reported in London last year.

'Every day'

Mr Fowler said that there was shoplifting in the chain's Chiswick store "every day".

"You've got three types of shoplifters," he said.

"We've got our homeless... Then we have what I would call the Posh Totty people. They shop in Planet Organic on a daily basis, they spend a lot of money with our business," he said.

"[They think] 'today I'm a little bit short of money, so I'm entitled to steal something'."

He said the third type of shoplifter was the "opportunist" who will "drop" something into their bag when they think no one is looking.

"We lose £900,000 a year just from theft," he said.

Mr Fowler says some "opportunist" shoplifters drop products into their bag when they think no one is looking

Data from the Met Police shows there were 38,157 shoplifting offences reported in 2022 and 57,453 in 2023.

The vast majority were not attended by an officer.

The Met Police said it was not realistic to respond to every case but "where a suspect is on the scene and the situation is likely to become heated or violent" call handlers would "dispatch officers where appropriate".

At the state opening of Parliament on Wednesday, King Charles said legislation would be brought forward to "strengthen community policing".

He said it would "give the police greater powers to deal with antisocial behaviour and strengthen support for victims".

The new crime bill will also target people who steal goods worth less than £200, a reversal of 2014 legislation that meant "low-value" thefts were subject to less serious punishment.

Professor Emmeline Taylor, of City University, says neighbourhood policing helps "stamp out" shoplifting

Emmeline Taylor, professor of criminology at City University said: "It's widely known that the police have been overstretched and under-resourced for over a decade.

"It is not just about the number of police that have been taken off the streets, it's also the operational approach and the strategy.

"We have seen a removal of neighbourhood policing and it's [neighbourhood policing] that... can really stamp out issues - antisocial behaviour, shoplifting, criminal damage - before they escalate."

Watch the full story on BBC Politics London at 10:00 BST on 21 July or on iPlayer..