Chief Constable’s introduction

Introduction

Policing plays an important role in enabling the economic prosperity that we all need.

Public bodies such as ours rely on a thriving economy to make the money which funds the services we provide.

But it is difficult for businesses to thrive where there is the threat of crime. Therefore, it is important that we do all we should to enable businesses such as local shops to serve their communities, provide employment and contribute to the economy.

In my early policing career, one of the ways we learned to investigate crime was by dealing with lots of straightforward cases of theft and deception in local shops.

Back to basics

We made lots of arrests, interviewed lots of suspects and put together lots of files. It was a good way of learning the basics of investigation and criminal justice and of becoming familiar with the criminal fraternity.

Over the years, we in policing shifted our attention to different crime types such as those targeting vulnerable people.

Understandable though this was, it meant we paid rather less attention to crimes such as shoplifting – perhaps in the mistaken belief that such offending did not really feature any victims.

Impact of criminality

But while one individual case of shoplifting might not seem that serious, if left to spread, this crime has an extremely bad effect on individual people and on community life.

Our shops provide community services. They feed us and equip us for life. They kept going during the pandemic. Shop workers are paid very little, and, like the police, they work irregular hours. They should not have to do so in fear of witnessing crime or, worse still, being a victim of physical violence.

Where the honest person sees a thief stealing without any consequences it diminishes their confidence in us and as more become aware of it, public confidence declines.

Leading the way

Shops should be a place where people feel safe, and money is exchanged for goods so that jobs are created and communities flourish.

They should not be a place to be exploited by organised crime groups dispatching gangs to steal from our stores.

This is why I am so pleased to see Surrey now leading the way in tackling shoplifting.

By encouraging reporting, responding faster, investigating better and applying problem-solving skills, police are reducing shoplifting in our county and in so doing helping businesses and communities to thrive in a way that benefits us all.

Tim De Meyer,
Chief Constable of Surrey Police

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