Shoplifting charges fall in parts of South East

Kent Police is working with local businesses to target shoplifters

The number of shoplifting offences leading to a prosecution has fallen in parts of the South East over the last five years, despite a rise in recorded crimes.

It comes as Prime Minister Rishi Sunak announced on Wednesday that assaulting a shopworker was to be made a separate criminal offence in response to a wave of retail crime.

Provisional Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) figures show offences leading to a court appearance fell in Surrey and Sussex between 2019 and 2023.

The National Police Chief’s Council (NPCC) said police forces were seeing “positive results” after enacting the Retail Crime Action Plan last October.

The number of offences leading to a first court appearance in Surrey fell by 70% from 794 to 271, between the year ending September 2019 and the same period in 2023.

At the same time the number dropped by 2%, from 1,471 to 1,441 in Sussex, and rose by 37% in Kent, from 2,234 to 3,070.

Official data shows recorded shoplifting offences grew by a third across the three counties in the same period.

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Kent Police said it was working in partnership with businesses, including One Maidstone Business Improvement District, giving officers a direct line to security guards and CCTV cameras.

Ch Insp Mark Mclellan said it was “not necessarily” always in the public interest to press charges.

“If it’s a one-off, we’ll look at a community resolution,” he said, but added the force sought to press charges for repeat offenders.

“If we don’t deal with the crime, then they’ll just keep doing it,” he continued.

Tates garden centre has invested in more than 80 high-quality CCTV cameras in response to shoplifting

In Sussex, director of garden centre chain Tates of Sussex, Benjamin Tate, said it had been subject to more than 50 shoplifting incidents since January.

He said Sussex Police had been “proactive” in requesting evidence and described its work as “very positive”.

Surrey Police said it had “renewed” its focus on tackling the crime, including through uniformed patrols and deploying plain clothes officers to shoplifting hotspots.

Sussex Police said civil orders and community resolutions could be used to bring about “behavioural change” in offenders.