A former senior police officer has accused Theresa May of causing the current shoplifting crisis through disastrous decisions made during her tenure as home secretary. Dal Babu, a former chief superintendent in the Metropolitan Police, says five key policies implemented by May between 2010 and 2016 have had a profound and deleterious impact on policing.
Babu points to the reduction of police numbers in England and Wales by almost 22,000 officers and more than 20,000 police staff as a primary cause. He argues that these cuts forced police leaders to gut neighbourhood teams in order to maintain 999 response capacity, reducing community confidence and opportunities for officers to work with local people.
The introduction of police and crime commissioners (PCCs) in 2012 is also criticised as a hyper-politicisation of policing. Babu notes that the first PCC election attracted only 15% of voters, and incumbents largely sided with their respective home secretary rather than local issues. He cites the chair of the Association of Police and Crime Commissioners, whose comments during far-right riots failed to endorse hardworking officers.
Babu further condemns the Anti-social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014, which made shoplifting goods valued at £200 or less a summary-only offence. In practice, offenders are now charged by post and can opt for a fine instead of custody, removing the police's ability to arrest and search suspects for low-value theft.
The former officer calls for urgent restoration of the force to what it once was, arguing that the decline in policing and public confidence can be traced directly back to May's decisions. He recalls his own early career, when new PCs regularly arrested shoplifters, gaining valuable experience while serving the community.
