MORE than 200,000 shoplifting cases went unsolved in the past year, new figures show.
Consequence-free thefts have now hit a five year high in what MPs are calling a “growing crime epidemic”.
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In the last 12 months an average of 560 yobs got away with stealing every day.
Home Office statistics show across England and Wales 205,676 unsolved shoplifting cases made up 57 per cent of total crimes without conviction.
Meanwhile, only around one in seven thefts ended in a suspect being charged or summonsed, down from 19 per cent in 2019.
Since 2015 more than 4,000 community support cops have been taken off the streets.
And as of last year, just 12 per cent of officers in England and Wales were assigned to frontline neighbourhood policing teams.
In October ministers announced a new police taskforce to grapple with shoplifting.
But the ‘Pegasus’ partnership receives just £30,000 funding per year – an equivalent of 8p per theft.
Liberal Dem Home Affairs Spokesperson, Alistair Carmichael, said: “As unsolved shoplifting soars across the country, organised criminal gangs are being let off the hook while shopkeepers are left vulnerable.
“Far too many people no longer feel safe in their own communities and town centres because this government has decimated community policing.”
Mr Carmichael insisted ministers initiate a “return to proper policing”.
He added: “We already know what works to stop crime – it’s not task forces and gimmicks, it’s putting police back on the beat and ensuring that crimes are properly investigated.
“If the Conservative party was serious about stopping shoplifting, they would give up the gimmicks and invest in frontline policing instead.”
