New figures from the Metropolitan Police have put numbers to London's growing problem with shoplifting. They reveal that a group of just 104 individuals were responsible for more than 5,300 retail theft offences across the capital over the past two years. The data points to an offence that is becoming increasingly organised in the city.
According to the figures, each of those 104 offenders committed at least 31 offences before being jailed. Most continued to re-offend even after being charged. The pattern describes a small core of prolific individuals driving a large share of the crime, rather than a widely spread problem.
In response, the Metropolitan Police, the British Retail Consortium and the Retail Trust are calling for fast-track courts. Under that proposal, repeat shoplifters would appear in court within 72 hours of being charged. The call is paired with a push for tougher enforcement of criminal behaviour orders against persistent offenders.
The concentration of offending is not limited to London. Nationwide, the figures cited indicate that around 10 percent of offenders are responsible for roughly 70 percent of all shop theft. That imbalance is central to the argument that focusing on the most prolific offenders could bring overall numbers down sharply.
The Metropolitan Police acknowledged shortcomings in how it has handled the issue. Assistant Commissioner Matt Twist said the force knows it has not always got the response to retail crime right. He said that over the past 18 months it had given neighbourhood officers new technology to quickly identify and arrest the small number of offenders responsible for a disproportionate amount of crime.
Twist added that working hand in hand with retailers and sharing evidence had been crucial to building strong cases and securing charges. Where under-reporting remains a problem, he said, the force is working with businesses to make sure incidents are reported so that offenders can be brought to justice. The figures and the calls for reform come amid a wider debate over why such a small group of repeat offenders has been so difficult to keep off the streets.