City MP calls invites Minister for Policing to meet retailers to discuss shoplifting epidemic

A city MP has called on Government to meet with Portsmouth retailers to discuss tackling shoplifting and antisocial behaviour.

Stephen Morgan has written to the Minister for Policing, Chris Philp, to follow up concerns regarding the worrying rise in shoplifting and antisocial behaviour in Portsmouth.

The Portsmouth South MP has invited the Minister to meet with local retailers to hear concerns and discuss what actions can be taken to tackle the crisis.

Shoplifting has reached a record high, as the number of incidents reportedly top 1,000 per day across the country.

The News last month revealed that police data showed 1,373 reports for shoplifting were made from April to September this year in Portsmouth, an 82 per cent increase from 753 the previous financial year.

Additionally, office for National Statistics figures show about 11,500 shoplifting offences were recorded by Hampshire Constabulary in the year to June – up from 8,712 in 2022.

The Government has sought to gain commitments from police across the country that they will aim to rush to the scene if shop workers are victims of violence, if a suspect has been detained by staff, or if evidence urgently needs to be secured.

Mr Morgan said the plans are a disingenuous attempt to shift the burden onto an already constrained workforce, without addressing the root cause of the crisis.

Portsmouth, he claims, currently has the lowest number of police officers per 100,000 than any other police service in the country.

Labou plans to tackle the shoplifting crisis include an added 13,000 more neighbourhood police officers with guaranteed patrols in town centres, implementing Respect Orders to ban repeat offenders from town centres, and creating a standalone offence for assaulting workers serving the public.

Additionally, Labour plans to eliminate the £200 threshold for investigating and prosecuting shop theft.

Mr Morgan said: “Despite claiming to be the party of law and order, this Tory government has failed to get a grip on rising shoplifting and antisocial behaviour in Portsmouth and across our country.

“That’s why I’m calling on the Minister for Policing to meet with me and local retailers to hear our concerns firsthand and discuss what actions can be taken to finally tackle the root cause of this crisis on our shopping streets.

“I hope the Minister will meet with us to understand the scale of the challenge local businesses and shopworkers are facing.”