Thousands of the UK’s most prolific shoplifters are ‘set to avoid jail under Labour plans’ – as stores brace for more mob chaos and supermarket chief calls for guards to be given pepper spray and truncheons

Thousands of Britain’s most prolific thieves could be spared prison under new Labor plans, with retailers warning of potential chaos and supermarket bosses calling for security staff to be equipped with pepper spray.

New laws that abolish most prison sentences under one year could allow up to 12,000 repeat offenders to avoid prison.

The changes stem from the Criminal Code, which came into force last year and restricts judges and magistrates from imposing one-year sentences only in ‘exceptional circumstances’.

According to Ministry of Justice data, under the new system, 98 percent of shoplifters currently in prison will be entitled to alternative ‘community sentences’.

This is despite burglary offenses in England and Wales set to rise by five per cent to 519,381 by September 2025, according to the latest ONS figures.

The levels remain just below the record 530,439 crimes recorded by March 2025.

The law, which came into force last month, was enacted to alleviate overcrowding in prisons. But he raised concerns that removing a strong deterrent could lead to an increase in shoplifting.

Lord Walker of Broxton, Iceland’s chief executive, said ‘even one incident of violence against my staff is one too many’, pointing to the example of armed guards in Spain to combat rising retail crime.

Ministry of Justice data has revealed 98 per cent of shoplifters currently in prison would be eligible for alternative ‘community sentences’ under the new system

To talk TimesHe said: ‘I have always advocated giving security officers more power. ‘You go to Spain and all the security guards have pepper spray and batons and they don’t do anything.’

Marks and Spencer’s retail manager Thinus Keeve said frontline staff faced violence and harassment every day.

The retail giant faced unrest at a store in Clapham, south London, earlier this week, with hundreds of young people flocking to high street stores as part of an online trend.

Mr Keeve called on Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood and London Mayor Sir Sadiq Khan to take stronger action to tackle record levels of crime and warned shoplifters were becoming more ‘brazen’, ‘organized’ and ‘aggressive’ in their attacks on staff.

Lord Walker agreed with his fellow high street boss.

He said: ‘We call it shoplifting, which sounds like brazen theft, but really we should just call it a violent crime.

‘We have all seen the images of marauding gangs and security guards being beaten.

‘The violent nature in Clappam is horrific.’

A survey by the Customer Service Institute found that 43 percent of frontline staff have experienced hostility or harassment from customers in the past six months

Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp has warned that shoplifting will ‘snowball out of control’ under Labour’s new sentencing reforms.

To talk TelegramHe said: ‘Even prolific shoplifters are now often sentenced to less than a year in prison. So Labour’s plan to abolish prison sentences under one year means shoplifters will never go to prison.

‘This means there will be no effective punishment for theft and it will only increase. This is the thieves’ charter and it means shoplifting will snowball out of control.’

Jo Causon, chief executive of the Customer Service Institute, which represents 350 businesses across Britain, added that the government had shown “no real engagement” with firms over rising crime on high streets, and warned it posed a serious risk to economic growth.

This is despite shoplifting costing the economy an estimated £2bn last year and threats of violence against retail workers approaching their highest levels in 30 years.

Indeed, a survey of 1,000 customer-facing workers in Britain by the Customer Service Institute found that 43 per cent of frontline staff had faced hostility or harassment from customers in the last six months; This rate increased by seven percent compared to the previous year.

The report, published in October 2025, also found that 22 percent of respondents had been threatened with physical violence.

In addition, 40 percent of service workers said abuse and aggression occurred so frequently that they felt it was pointless to report it, while 35 percent of those who experienced aggression said they were considering leaving their positions.

Shoplifting cost the economy an estimated £2bn last year and threats of violence against retail workers are approaching their highest levels in 30 years

Ms Causon said the incidents at M&S ​​were “a further reminder that harassment, hostility and criminal behavior towards frontline workers is all too common and often goes unpunished”.

‘This isn’t specific to one brand or one sector: it’s part of a much wider trend across our high streets and communities.

‘For too many people working in customer-facing roles in retail, hospitality, transport or services, intimidation, threats and violence have become a brutal part of the working day.’

A Ministry of Justice spokesman said: ‘This government has inherited a prison system on the verge of collapse.

‘The suspension of short sentences is part of wider, urgent reform to ensure our prison system never again teeters on the brink of collapse and dangerous criminals are kept off our streets.

‘It would be wrong to suggest that every short sentence for shoplifting will be suspended, especially when it comes to repeat offenders.

‘However, the evidence suggests that community orders and suspended sentences are a more successful deterrent to reoffending than prison.

‘This government is committed to punishment that works as we tackle the repeat shoplifting that ravages our communities and high streets.

‘We are delivering one of the biggest labeling expansions in UK history – backed by £100m of funding – and will target shoplifters as well as other criminals.’