We're letting thieves steal British decency

WHAT has happened to Great Britain? Many of us have witnessed first hand the demise of society with shoplifting rising and customers stealing anything from Greggs’ pasties to entire shelves of booze from Co-op.

- JJ Anisiobi GUEST COLUMNIST

We can look to blame economic pressures like the cost-of-living crisis, a perceived leniency from security guards not allowed to quite literally tackle shoplifters – and a stretched police force who refuse to respond to thefts with a value less than £200.

But I think a large part of the problem is that we, as a society, have lost our sense of both shame and pride.

As a working-class kid brought up on a council estate, I watched my mum work two jobs in order to keep the lights on. Stealing because you didn’t have something was never an option. It would bring extreme amounts of shame upon your family and if anyone saw you trying to shoplift, they would instinctively step in and stop you. We used to have a sense of pride that meant we didn’t put up with degenerates acting in a way that would negatively impact all of us. But a few years ago when I stopped a bike thief by wrestling him to the ground and holding him until the police arrived, I was targeted by some far-Left loons who claimed I was in the wrong.