Dame Sharon White, chairwoman of the John Lewis Partnership has said that shoplifting is “epidemic” and workers have to put up with “abuse and attacks.”
John Lewis has said that the “incidents” have not always been “responded to by the police” which has resulted in 10 of the largest retailers agree to fund an operation to crack down on shoplifting.
The project is called Pegasus and the 10 largest retailers are thought to be paying around £600,000 and will utilise facial recognition and CCTV to understand the organised crime of shoplifting.
The British Retail Consortium (BRC) estimates that over the past six years shoplifting has more than doubled and in 2022 there was 8 million thefts.
Dame Sharon said that there has to be a comprehensive plan in place to prevent organised gangs planning mass raids on shops which was seen in August in Oxford Street, London.
Speaking on Radio 4’s Today programme, Dame Sharon said, “In the last year we’ve seen twice as many offences.
“When I think about our shop workers who were lauded as national heroes during the pandemic, it’s not right that they’re having to put up with abuse and attacks.
“Incidents haven’t always been responded to by the police… and sometimes those incidents have got some violent aspects.”
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