Images of known shoplifters must be shared on WhatsApp to protect staff, demands Iceland boss

IMAGES of known shoplifters indispensable beryllium shared connected WhatsApp successful bid to support staff, a supermarket brag has demanded.

Iceland’s enforcement president Richard Walker yesterday blasted “bonkers” information extortion laws that forestall him from doing truthful to safeguard convulsive offenders’ “human rights”.

He besides slammed the “ridiculous” £200 theft bounds introduced by the Tories successful 2014, which treats thefts nether this magnitude arsenic “low value” and lets offenders disconnected with a slap connected the wrist via post.

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has pledged to scrap the bounds arsenic good arsenic making assaults connected store workers a circumstantial transgression offence successful a caller crime bill.

Urging the caller Government to get cracking, Mr Walker told the BBC: “We speech astir workers’ rights… however astir the close not to beryllium assaulted astatine work?

"So making battle connected store workers a basal unsocial offence, getting escaped of this ridiculous £200 limit, which fundamentally gives a escaped paper to shoplifters to nick what they want.

“And much police resourcing due to the fact that they are not responding astatine the infinitesimal arsenic they should do.”

He went on: “I’d besides similar to propulsion the gauntlet down to the Information Commissioner due to the fact that to support the quality rights of known convulsive offenders I americium not allowed to stock connected WhatsApp groups images of known store lifters, which is bonkers.

“So I deliberation there’s galore things the Government tin bash and wide up that volition assistance my customers, my colleagues successful the day-to-day life, conscionable spell astir their business.”

Shoplifting deed a 20-year precocious successful the twelvemonth to March 2024, with 443,995 offences recorded by constabulary successful England and Wales.

This is simply a 3rd higher than successful the aforesaid play successful 2014, erstwhile 326,440 offences were recorded but led to importantly higher numbers being punished.