A policing chief has insisted that the public should stand up to shoplifters rather than only relying on police officers to catch thieves.
Matthew Barber, the Conservative Police and Crime Commissioner for Thames Valley, has warned we live in a “very poor society” if people just keep their heads down instead of calling out the crime.
It comes as the number of shoplifting offences across England and Wales climbed to another record high, with 530,643 offences logged in 2024-25, up 20% from 444,022 in 2023-24.
Shoplifting has also exploded in London since the Covid 19 pandemic and around 90,000 shop lifting offences were recorded in the capital last year.
In an interview with the Telegraph, Mr Barber doubled down on his view that members of the public should call out the offence, insisting that citizens should have some responsibility.
He told the newspaper: “The idea that this is just a job for the police, citizens have no responsibility, put your head down, carry on, don’t get involved, I think that makes for a very poor society.”
Mr Barber had made a similar comment at a Thames Valley police and crime panel in June, where he insisted “we should all be responsible citizens in our community”.
The police chief told the panel: “If you’ve got someone in your store now stealing from you, call 999.
“Also, ideally, try and stop them leaving, don’t just stand there and watch, which a lot of people do, which frustrates me.
“When someone just goes and helps themselves to their daily lunch from M&S, grabs their sandwich and drink and just walks out, and the staff do nothing to challenge it.
“The next person in the queue will say to the cashier ‘well, why am I going to bother to pay for this? Because you are not even going to try and stop him?’
“If you’re not even going to challenge people, you’re not going to try and stop them, then people will get away with it. That’s not just about policing.
“That’s a bigger problem with society, people who [don’t do anything] – you’re part of the problem.”
But Mr Barber’s comments have been criticised by local Liberal Democrat MP Joshua Reynolds, who said the public helping to stop criminals had a “lack of common sense”.
Mr Reynolds told the Bracknell News that stopping crime should be the job of the police and that forces should be supported to tackle criminals “rather than asking ordinary shoppers to step in to dangerous and threatening situations”.
In London, the number of shop lifting offences has more than doubled in two years since Covid.
Last month it was announced that up to 80 new police officers would be introduced to the West End team to focus on crimes such as shoplifting, phone robbery and violence against women and girls.
But the Met Police is also having to restructure teams as it prepares to lose 1,700 officers and staff.
