Morrisons is allowing anarchy in its stores (Image: Getty)
Of all the depressing headlines I’ve read about this country in recent years, this is by far the worst: “Security guards told not to stop shoplifters”. It’s not a joke. It’s not an April Fool. It’s not a misprint. Horrifyingly, it really is true. Following Morrisons’ unfathomable, disgusting decision to sack an employee for apprehending a shoplifter, the security guards union is actually instructing its members not to do the very thing they are there for. I know, the mind boggles. It’s like police officers being told not to arrest people; surgeons being told not to operate; street cleaners told to leave the litter where it’s thrown; teachers told not to teach.
I can honestly think of no more tragic indictment of our country, and no more graphic illustration of our descent into lunacy. Yet, who can blame the union? The evidence is clear: security guards who apprehend shoplifters, risking a knife to the heart in the process, also risk losing their jobs or being prosecuted for assault. It’s not just Morrisons. Waitrose has done it too.
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And how will the many thousands of shoplifters react to this insane development? I know what I’d do if I were one of those low-life criminals. I’d fill my boots.
I’d get right on down to Tesco or Sainsbury’s right now, grab the biggest trolley I could find, fill it up to the brim with the most expensive goods on sale, take them home, and then set off back for some more. And I’d carry on doing that until my home was so full of stolen goods that I could squeeze in nothing else.
That is literally what this country is now actively incentivising shoplifters to do. Already, we’ve sent out the message that if you steal less than £200 worth of goods, the police aren’t that fussed. Already, there are countless examples of shoplifters helping themselves and walking out the door without a care in the world. Already we’ve seen rates of shoplifting skyrocket – up 133% since lockdown.
And now, just when these criminals can hardly believe their luck, and have to pinch themselves to take it all in, we tell the one group of people specifically tasked with stopping them not to bother.
We are mad. We have gone completely barking bonkers. A combination of gigantic health and safety excess and the perversity of the human rights of the criminals being prioritised has opened the door to anarchy. I’m not exaggerating.
Oh, and to rub salt into the wound, it is of course the dwindling number of honest, law-abiding citizens – you know, those who follow that old-fashioned practice of paying for stuff – who will foot the bill.
Because when retailers invest £5 billion in technology and other projects to prevent crime, like they have done, who do you think pays for it all? Yup, the honest guy. You and me. And all in a cost-of-living crisis. No wonder prices are heading due north.
So, please, don’t be surprised the next time you hear that a friend’s mobile phone has been snatched. Don’t profess shock next time you see someone jump over the barriers at a railway station. Don’t get all huffy when you see a shoplifter in action.
This is quite literally the anarchy that we have created and which is now hopelessly uncontrollable. We let it happen. We voted in the politicians. And we can blame nobody but ourselves.
