The UK Tory Government’s decision to downgrade the criminal justice response to shoplifting so that stealing goods worth under £200 is not prosecuted has resulted in a 22% rise in shoplifting this year alone. As well as the damage to our high streets that this policy causes, it also puts retail workers at risk.
At Welsh Questions, I asked the Secretary of State for Wales what his government was doing to solve the problem they created. Labour has a plan to make it easier to take action against repeat offenders and create a new offence for those who assault retail workers.