Stephen Morgan MP has today written to the Minister for Policing to follow up concerns regarding the worrying rise in shoplifting and antisocial behaviour in Portsmouth, inviting the Minister to meet with local retailers to hear concerns and discuss what actions can be taken to tackle the crisis.
It comes as the Government’s shoplifting summit failed to put forward a comprehensive plan to tackle the crisis at hand, action described by the City MP as “too little, too late”.
Shoplifting has reached a record high under the Conservatives, as the number of incidents reportedly top 1,000 per day across the country.
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 currently has the lowest number of police officers per 100,000 than any other police service in the country.
Labour has put forward a package of measures to address this issue, including adding 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.
Following meeting with a number of our city’s retailers, the Portsmouth South representative is now urging the Minister for Policing to visit the city first-hand or meet with Mr Morgan and representatives of local businesses.
Commenting Portsmouth MP Stephen 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”.
Mr Morgan has been raising concerns with local police and council and supporting USDAW’s campaign calling on the Government to take urgent action to protect shopworkers on the frontline.
