Shoplifting has ‘got out of hand’, Labour admits amid fury at data watchdog’s advice NOT to share pictures of thieves because it ‘breaches data protection’
Shoplifting has ‘got out of hand’, a Labour minister admitted today – amid fury at advice telling shopkeepers to avoid sharing pictures of thieves.
The warning from the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) that shaming suspects could ‘breach data protection’ has been seized upon as proof that red tape is holding back efforts to tackle the scourge of retail theft.
Asked if it was right to display images of thieves in shop windows, Labour MP Alex Davies-Jones told Radio 4’s Today programme: ‘What we do know is that shoplifting has got out of hand in the country.
‘That is why we have taken the action that we have done in our Crime and Policing Bill.’
Asked again if it was right for shops to post photos of suspects, she responded: ‘I think it is on all of us to be aware of what is going on in our local communities.’
On an advice page for tackling shoplifters, the ICO said stores ‘must only share personal information that’s proportionate and necessary to achieve your purpose’.
Shadow justice secretary Robert Jenrick called the advice ‘madness’ and suggested shoplifters should be ‘named and shamed’.
The row comes days after police told a shop owner to remove a sign calling thieves ‘scum bags’ because it was ‘provocative and potentially offensive’.
It comes days after a business owner was told by police to remove a sign calling thieves ‘scum bags’
Asked if it was right to display images of suspect thieves in shop windows, Labour MP Alex Davies-Jones told Today : ‘What we do know is that shoplifting has got out of hand’
Reform UK’s Richard Tice accused officials of siding with thieves over shopkeepers, who should be able to decide who enters their premises.
‘We should be letting the general public know of the photographs of people who have a track record of stealing in towns,’ he told the Telegraph.
The ICO, a non-departmental body sponsored by the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology, said in a blog post from 2023 that thefts could be tackled using data protection laws but only ‘as long as it’s necessary and proportionate’.
In lieu of posting photos of suspected thieves, the body suggests retailers share details of the shoplifters with police or any information they may have about the incident with another store nearby.
It also said that sharing photos on messaging platforms had the potential to be similarly inappropriate.
A spokesman for the Information Commissioner’s Office said: ‘We don’t set strict requirements on how organisations should respond to shoplifting, as data protection law recognises that circumstances can vary. Instead, we provide guidance to help organisations use people’s information in a way that is lawful, fair and proportionate.
‘Data protection law enables retailers to share images to prevent or detect crime, as long as it’s necessary and proportionate in the circumstances. For example, this could include sharing images with the police, shopping centre security teams, or other relevant authorities.
‘Retailers will need to consider the relevant privacy implications, such as having a legal reason and appropriate security measures, when considering publishing any images of suspected shoplifters.’
Taking to X, Shadow home office minister Katie Lam recounted a story about a constituent who had been ordered by police to remove pictures of suspected shoplifters.
‘He gives police CCTV, card details, licence plates. No action apart from a visit to say he must take down pics of thieves “because of GDPR”,’ she wrote.
‘Our system should crush the lawless and protect the law-abiding. It does the opposite.’
Last week, it was revealed that the defiant shopkeeper who was told by police to remove the shoplifting sign in case it caused offence was planning to put up an even bigger one
He began locking goods in cabinets after he said police failed to deal with earlier shoplifting incidents
It follows a backlash after a shopkeeper was told to remove a shoplifting sign in case it caused offence was planning to put up an even bigger one.
Police caused a free-speech row when they turned up at Rob Davis’s vintage store in North Wales and told him to take down a handwritten sign that referred to shoplifters as ‘scum bags’.
Officers told him they had received a complaint about the notice, which stated: ‘Due to scum bags shoplifting please ask for assistance to open cabinets.’
But Mr Davis, who says he was driven to put it up on his shop door because of escalating shoplifting in Wrexham, told The Mail on Sunday that he had no intention of taking it down.
He added: ‘The sign is staying – and I may even get a bigger one.
‘It’s a simple point, in my opinion, and succinctly put, and can’t cause offence apart from to anyone intending to steal from me.
‘I was even polite and put “Thank you” on the bottom.’
Mr Davis, 59, said he put it up a month ago in frustration after discovering that he was losing almost his entire monthly profit because of thieves – but was astonished to then get a visit from the police.
He said: ‘A police officer and PCSO came in. They said the sign was provocative and potentially offensive.
‘When I asked, “Why, who it could be offensive to?” the officer didn’t answer. The only person who can be offended by the words “scum bag” is a scum bag who wants to steal from me!’
Mr Davis said he had received overwhelming support from fellow shopkeepers in the face of a tidal wave of theft in the town.
‘There’s been massive support everywhere since the sign went up,’ he added. ‘Shopkeepers are all in the same boat; everyone is having stuff stolen, even cafes.’
He began locking goods in cabinets after he said police failed to deal with earlier shoplifting incidents.
He added: ‘Over the past year I have caught five people shoplifting. After the first, I called the police. They handed the stolen shirt to me and let the shoplifter go. Now I don’t bother reporting them. Almost every day I get shoplifting.’
He said that after putting out 30 sets of fishnet stockings, 20 were taken, adding: ‘Theft has definitely got worse.
‘If you are £200 down because of shoplifting that might be my profit for the whole month.’
Mr Davis said retailers in the town were facing a number of prolific shoplifters and criticised police efforts to tackle them.
‘I pay two lots of rates, business and residential, and part goes to policing. I’m not getting the service I’m paying for.
‘If I had a builder and he didn’t provide the service properly, I wouldn’t pay.’
A man shoving luxury candles into an empty Waitrose bag in Hersham
In another piece of footage, this time from Oxted, a man can be seen squatting down and hurriedly shoving four candles into an open Sainsbury’s bag
He urged police: ‘Just do the job you are there for. You are a public service. You don’t need to be coming here telling me anything unless I am doing something wrong, otherwise leave me alone.’
North Wales Police said: ‘All reports of shoplifting are taken extremely seriously. We are committed to combatting retail theft.’
Shoplifting figures released this week by the British Retail Consortium (BRC) showed just 2.5 per cent of offences were recorded by the police each year.
It said 50,000 shoplifting incidents go unreported every day as firms give up on the police.
BRC chief executive Helen Dickinson said: ‘Many retailers do not see the point of reporting incidents to the police.’
