Police tell shopkeepers: Don't bother us about thieves

SHOPKEEPERS have been told not to bother phoning the police if thieves steal goods worth less than £20.

00:00, Fri, Jul 23, 2010

Shopkeepers have been told not to phone the police if thieves steal goods worth less than 20 Shopkeepers have been told not to phone the police if thieves steal goods worth less than £20

Force bosses say the proposal forms part of a new anti-crime initiative actually aimed at combating shoplifting – but it has been decried as “ludicrous” by shop owners. Police chiefs say shopkeepers must now simply make a log of thefts worth less than £20 because they are too busy to respond to “low-level” crime.

Community support officers will talk to victims every fortnight to review their logs and discuss ways of tackling thefts. The scheme is being piloted by Humberside Police ahead of proposals to implement it across the force.

But Anthony Bush, owner of the Killingholme store near Immingham, said: “It is ludicrous. This is people’s livelihoods we are talking about. If I notice shoplifting I will call the police.”