Met Police attend less than half of shoplifting reports, figures show

The Met says it's "not realistic" for officers to attend every shoplifting incident

Less than half of shoplifting reports in London are being attended by the police, new data has shown.

Met Police statistics show that between April 2022 and April 2023 38% of shoplifting-related calls were attended by officers.

Caroline Pidgeon, a Liberal Democrat assembly member, called on the government to tackle the gangs behind "shoplifting rings".

The Home Office said "neighbourhood crimes" have been driven down.

The Met's data shows that the percentage of shoplifting reports attended by police since April 2023 had improved to 44% by the end of September.

But the rate has not been above 50% since at least 2018, the data showed.

'Not a victimless crime'

Ms Pidgeon said: "Shoplifting is at epidemic levels in London now, with many business owners feeling like it has all but been decriminalised and many retail staff increasingly being put in harm's way."

She said shoplifting is not a "victimless crime" that does a "huge amount of damage to our local businesses".

A Met spokesperson said it was "not realistic" for officers to attend every incident of shoplifting due to demand and that deployment is prioritised in instances where it may become "heated or violent".

"A London-wide roll-out of Operation Retail is now in place, following a successful pilot, allowing more effective and stream-lined reporting of shoplifting where no offender has been detained or violence occurred," they added.

A Home Office spokesperson said the policing minister has told forces in England and Wales to take a zero-tolerance approach to shoplifting.

"Our Retail Crime Action Plan will drive down criminal behaviour and improve public confidence in the police response when it does occur," they said.

A spokesman for London mayor Sadiq Khan said City Hall is "working to plug the gap" in Met funding "against the backdrop of huge national cuts".

A source close to Mr Khan said: "He would welcome the Lib Dems joining him in making the case for the Government to properly fund our police."

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