Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if he will undertake a review of the adequacy of the legislation relating to bystanders and shoplifting.

The Government is clear that violent and abusive behaviour towards any public-facing worker is never acceptable. We take this issue very seriously and recognise the implications on businesses as well as the victims.

We keep all legislation under review. This Government has recently made significant steps to improve the police response to retail crime, including shoplifting.

In October, the National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) published the Retail Crime Action Plan. Through this Plan, all police forces in England and Wales have committed to prioritise police attendance at the scene where violence has been used towards shop staff, where an offender has been detained by store security, and where evidence needs to be secured and can only be done by police personnel. Additionally, where CCTV or other digital images are secured, police will run this through the Police National Database to further aid efforts to identify prolific offenders or potentially dangerous individuals. There are no plans to review PACE legislation which makes it legal (as it has been for many decades) for a member of the public to perform a citizens arrest in certain circumstances.

This builds on the commitment made by the NPCC in August 2023 that all police forces across England and Wales will follow up all crimes where there is actionable evidence and the chance of identifying an offender, including shoplifting.