Policing alone won’t solve London’s shoplifting epidemic
Shoplifting is damaging London’s reputation as a global city. It’s time the entire justice system pulled together to tackle it, says Dee Corsi
London’s attractiveness as a globally renowned destination for culture and tourism isn’t going anywhere. But recent research from New West End Company has found that safety and policing is holding it back.
Despite our new PM’s devolution agenda, we need to see retail crime front and centre of justice reforms for the good of the country and economy. London is a global city representing a huge part of UK GDP, yet its police officer per capita ratio is nearly half that of Paris. This is an issue not just for Londoners, but for businesses, visitors and those wanting to invest here.
What can we do? Against a challenging funding backdrop, every pound invested needs to deliver maximum return for public safety. The West End – home to Oxford Street, colloquially known as the “nation’s high street” – has the potential to shift perceptions about London crime and set an example for others to follow. By building strong, operational relationships between the Met, the Mayor and Westminster City Council on behalf of our 800 local businesses, New West End Company has demonstrated how on-the-ground collaboration can help move the dial on crime. However, this needs to be backed up by Government action. Our partnerships deliver everything from more efficient intelligence sharing, to covert operations to disrupt and deter prolific offenders, ultimately achieving greater security on our streets.
Our data shows that this approach works – particularly when it comes to visitors’ perceptions. Contrary to alarmist media narratives and social media misinformation, visitors consistently rank their personal safety eight out of 10 or higher, even during busy periods.
Our ‘open and safe’ partnership puts theory into practice. Last year, we signed a landmark agreement to share on-the-ground data with police in real-time. A £4.5m investment from the Mayor of London has provided the funding needed for a West End ‘Command Fusion Cell’, which triages intelligence and rapid responses to incidents like phone theft. Furthermore, Westminster City Council has created the new role of Cabinet Member for Enforcement to tackle anti-social behaviour, illegal street trading and the dumping of e-bikes and scooters.
While it’s critical that the entire ecosystem for tackling crime is watertight, we now need a robust criminal justice system with sentences for prolific offending.
Street level enforcement is only half the story. Every arrest is resource-intensive; from security teams logging reports, to police compiling evidence, and retailers giving court statements. Yet, prolific offenders regularly escape custodial sentences and are back on the street in weeks. New data from the Met has revealed that just 104 prolific shoplifters were linked to 4,389 offences over the last two years – almost a third of all incidents where a suspect was identified. It took a minimum of 31 offences before each of the offenders were given a custodial sentence. This isn’t just a London problem: 91 per cent of retailers in urban areas and rural locations experienced retail crime over the last 12 months, compared to 94 per cent for inner city retailers.
Beyond arrests
It doesn’t have to be like this. Stronger sentencing for repeat offenders would make perpetrators think twice. Burnham’s government needs to recognise and understand that crimes are not opportunistic, they’re all too often deliberate.
Strengthening existing deterrents is just the start. Many of the West End’s prolific offenders have been known shoplifters for years. Criminal Behaviour Orders (CBO) that “ban” individuals from an area are regularly ignored. Changing the legislation to ensure that breaking a CBO results in an immediate custodial sentence would increase public and business confidence and give teeth to an existing deterrent.
Over the next five years, we’re investing £23m in security, including new 24/7 CCTV and on-street security presence to ensure visitors feel safe and welcome. We also welcome recent plans from the Met to pilot permanent Live Facial Recognition in the district.
It is time that our justice system took retail crime seriously. A new PM presents new opportunity to finally call time on shoplifting. The West End’s businesses, local authorities and the Met are proving that collaboration works and that we can lead by example. But partnerships are only as strong as their weakest link. Retail crime cannot be tackled through enforcement measures alone, and Andy Burnham must realise that a more robust approach to sentencing is critical to restore confidence. Repeat offenders must face consequences reflecting the scale of harm caused to businesses and frontline staff.
Tackling crime in areas like the West End will have an outsized impact on crime in our capital. Make the West End safer, and you can change how the world sees London and the UK as a whole.
Dee Corsi is CEO of the New West End Company