Crack down harder on shoplifting

Crime comes in many forms, from the petty to the extremely serious.

- BY WEST SCOTLAND MSP PAM GOSAL

For too long The act of shoplifting has been written off as a victimless offence

But for too long the act of shoplifting has been written off as a victimless offence which should be dealt with by a halfhearted ticking off from authorities.

As this newspaper reported last month, the brazen thieving by criminals from retailers in Renfrewshire has increased sharply in recent times.

It's a nationwide trend which only shows signs of getting worse, and the SNP’s soft-touch approach to justice is to blame.

Barely a day goes past when its shambolic approach to law and order isn’t exposed.

It even emerged this week that, before the next Holyrood election in May, it will have released a further 1000 inmates early to address prison overcrowding issues entirely of the Nationalists’ own making.