Don’t ignore shoplifters, minister says, after police urges ‘discretion’

The Independent says a policing minister has rejected a suggestion from the HM chief inspector of constabulary that officers should use “discretion” when deciding whether to prosecute desperate shoppers during the cost-of-living crisis.

Kit Malthouse said that “justice should be blind” and said he had written to chief constables last year to stress that they “should not be ignoring those seemingly small crimes”, and highlighted government support.

As inflation hit a 40-year high, Andy Cooke, the HM chief inspector of constabulary and former chief constable of Merseyside Police, suggested on Wednesday the cost-of-living crisis will “invariably” fuel a rise in crime.

“I think whenever you see an increase in the cost-of-living or whenever more people dropping into poverty, I think you invariably see a rise in crime,” he said. “And that’s going to be a challenge for policing to deal with”.

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/police-kit-malthouse-cost-of-living-b2082509.html

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