Employees at the Co-op have received advice from bosses telling them not to intervene if they spot thieves raiding the shelves. Staff have been told they may face dismissal if they challenge shoplifters brazenly walking out of stores with stolen goods, with laying a finger on offenders now considered a sackable offence. Violent incidents have escalated at Co-op stores, including a gang of three masked men, clad in black, seen leaping over a counter wielding machetes and grabbing packs of cigarettes and vapes at a London location in February 2024.
Staff were threatened by the criminals during that machete raid. In a separate attack at a Co-op store in Dorset, a shop worker was assaulted when she saw a thief steal a pastry and two bottles of alcohol. Waitrose has also implemented a non-intervention policy, with staff told not to intervene after thieves were caught stuffing bottles of alcohol into Deliveroo bags.
A pair of young men in hoods and balaclavas stole at least 13 bottles in 45 seconds at a Waitrose store in September last year. Staff reactions to the policies have been critical, with the move branded 'ridiculous' by employees. Workers say people will now know they can just 'fill their bags and walk out without paying'.
This is the reality of Sadiq Khan's London. It's a complete and utter disgrace. And Labour are about to make this even worse by scrapping prison sentences for shoplifters.
One worker has seen thieves help themselves to goods worth hundreds of pounds at a Co-op store in west London. The scale of the shoplifting problem is significant, with the Co-op hit by more than 300,000 cases of shoplifting and abuse in 2023. It is often repeat offenders who come back to the same shop again and again to steal.
From a security guard perspective, store security guard Craig Wincarr said employees are instructed not to stop shoplifters. He said they are basically there as a deterrent for middle-class chancers, not professionals. Political criticism has emerged, with Shadow Justice Secretary Robert Jenrick saying Labour had lost control of Britain's streets.
He claimed Labour are about to make shoplifting worse by scrapping prison sentences for shoplifters.