Keir Starmer to call time on ‘disgraceful’ shop theft ‘free-for-all’
Sir Keir Starmer will set out new plans to crack down on retail crime, vowing to make shoplifting a “free for all”.
Speaking on Monday, the prime minister will oppose “shameful” attempts to “cheat the system” through high street shoplifting, saying the government has deployed an extra 3,000 neighborhood police officers on the streets.
The government has removed effective immunity for thieves who steal goods worth less than £200. Meanwhile, ministers are seeking to create a separate offense for assaulting a retail worker in the Crime and Police Bill passing Parliament.
However, as the end of the parliamentary session approaches, the two Houses of Parliament are currently bickering over the final draft of the bill.
Sir Keir is expected to say: “Working people – the corrupt – go to work, do the right thing, ensure our high streets thrive, and yet they are often abused or attacked by people who think they can get away with it and cheat the system. It’s disgraceful.”
Noting the previous immunity for thieves who stole goods worth less than £200, he will say: “This was a thieves’ contract and we put an end to it.
“We’ve also toughened penalties. We’re giving stronger powers to the police, making harassment and assault of retail workers a specific offense and giving you the same protections as emergency workers.”
In the latest annual survey by retail union Usdaw, almost 80 per cent of store workers said they had been verbally abused, more than half said they had been threatened by a customer and 10 per cent said they had been assaulted.
Last year, there were more than 500,000 thefts, down 1 percent from the previous year; however, the decline may reflect a change in the way such crimes are recorded.
In April last year, police forces were advised that if a person enters a retail premises, steals and then uses or threatens violence against staff or other people, it should be classed as business robbery.
This may explain the rapid increase in the number of such robberies, rising by 78 percent to 26,158 in 2025.
Praising the new legislation, Usdaw general secretary Joanne Thomas said it provided “much needed protection for retail workers law”.
“Whilst there was a welcome small decline in shoplifting last year, the reality is that retail crime remains a significant problem for the industry and staff in particular,” he said.
“Usdaw’s latest research has found that this is by no means a victimless crime, with two-thirds of attacks on retail workers triggered by burglary or armed robbery.
“Having to deal with repeated and persistent offending can cause problems beyond theft, such as anxiety, fear and physical harm to retail workers.”
Ministers are working with police and industry on efforts to tackle retail crime, and the government has invested £5 million in a specialist police intelligence unit called Opal, which aims to identify the most harmful criminals and disrupt shoplifting gangs.
