SHOP workers are the hidden victims of the cost-of-living crisis, an Usdaw official warned today after Sir Keir Starmer suggested Britain was “turning the tide” on record levels of shoplifting.

The Prime Minister highlighted a 17 per cent rise in the numbers of shoplifters being charged at the union’s annual conference in Blackpool.

“Shop theft is down, it’s only slightly down but the tide could be turning,” he said, adding that trials where shop CCTV has been shared instantly with local forces had seen police solve twice as many shop theft cases.

“I want to see that rolled across the country,” he said. “We are calling time on the free‑for‑all, standing firm, together, against the disgraceful crime of shop theft.”

Usdaw health and safety officer Tony Whelan welcomed the government’s proposals to criminalise abusing and assaulting retail workers in England and Wales and abolishing the £200 threshold before a theft is treated more seriously.

“The general shop theft that happens all the time desperately needs to be improved on,” he told the Morning Star.

“Getting rid of the £200 threshold is important, the new law is going to help … but none of this is going to be a silver bullet because in Scotland they’ve had it in for a while, yes, there’ve been more arrests but shop thefts are still very similar.”

Mr Whelan, who sits on government advisory meetings aimed at tackling sky-high levels of shop theft with police and employers, added: “To be honest with you, I think it’s the root causes of this that are the problem and the root causes of this are societal.

“Whatever the impact of say the cost-of-living — we’ve stripped back all of these social infrastructures when people are mentally ill or on the streets to get back on their feet, we just haven’t got that there. 

“If we were to invest in that and get these people proper support — I know some [drug addicted] people never want off, I get that — but some police forces have tried to do that and it’s had a positive impact. 

“The investment return is there but for some reason we don’t have the will to do that. 

“We are looking at trying to prevent the direct ‘what’s happening’ — we do have to do that but if we really want to get to the root of this we’ve got to get to the fact where people know they are going to get the support they need.

“Also employers need to realise that staffing levels are important.”

He also stressed the importance of retailers, policymakers and police working together, saying the Home Office-funded partnership Operation Pegasus aimed at dismantling organised retail crime gangs has “already had some really positive results. 

“They have started infiltrating them and made some significant arrests.”

Mr Whelan hoped high-profile arrests of organised retail crime gangs would help create a change in public perception over shops being an easy target for thieves.