CRIMINALS ARE INCREASINGLY targeting shops because police priorities are elsewhere and soft penalties are failing to provide a deterrent., says the British Retail Consortium's Retail Crime Survey.

The BRC is calling on the Government to reject proposals that would see prison removed as a penalty for shoplifting, even for the worst repeat offenders. It also believes the police should make retail crime a high priority.

The survey, sponsored by ADT, shows crime cost retailers £2.1bn last year, and £13.2bn since 2000. Shoplifting incidents rose 70 per cent, despite the industry investing more than £4.3bn in crime prevention.

BRC director general Kevin Hawkins said: "The huge increase in the number of shoplifting incidents is extremely worrying ... Soft penalties and poor enforcement are to blame. Retailers are spending millions of pounds on their own crime prevention as well as contributing £4.5 billion a year in business rates. They are entitled to the support of the government and police but at the moment they are not getting it."

Source

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