Getting tough on crime will win trust of voters

UR country is in the midst of a shoplifting epidemic. There are almost three thefts a minute reported by retailers. Police recorded more than 530,000 shoplifting offences to March this year, up 20% on last year, when almost 800 cases went unsolved every day. Retailers instruct their security guards not to intervene and police are reluctant to act.

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This cannot go on. Which is why the Daily Express has started its Stop The Shoplifters crusade, demanding the Government and police act on this crisis.

We aim to force action with a simple but effective plan — that the police must run CCTV images of retail thefts through the Police National Computer database to identify thieves and bring them to justice.