Shoplifters face having to wear GPS tags under new emergency measures

• ‘Low level’ offenders to be given community orders to ease prison overcrowding

Shoplifters will be tagged with GPS tracking devices under plans being considered by the Government – a month after The Mail on Sunday launched a major campaign against the crime.

The ankle bracelets, worn by domestic abusers and burglars, will mean the police can track the thieves’ movements at all times – acting, it is hoped, as a serious deterrent.

The idea comes as analysis by the Mail revealed that 5,000 shoplifters a year could avoid jail under emergency measures to ease prison overcrowding. 

Announced last week by Justice Secretary Alex Chalk, they include the introduction of laws to stop magistrates and judges handing down sentences of less than 12 months. ‘Low level’ offenders, including shoplifters, will be given community orders instead.

Katy Bourne, the national business and retail crime lead at the Association of Police and Crime Commissioners, said she had been in discussions with Ministers about extending tags to prolific shoplifters.

Justice Secretary Alex Chalk announced last week that ‘low level’ offenders including shoplifters would be given community orders instead of being jailed, under emergency measures to ease overcrowding in prisons

Meanwhile, a Government action plan to combat the crime is expected to be announced tomorrow, after official figures showed a record 25 per cent rise in theft from shops over the past year, with offences now up to 1,000 a day. 

Police will be told to adopt a ‘zero-tolerance’ approach, to investigate every crime where there are reasonable leads such as CCTV footage. and to provide the ‘highest grade of emergency response’ when staff detain a thief.

A new police operation called Project Pegasus is also to be set up, funded by ten leading retailers including Tesco, Sainsbury’s and John Lewis. This will use face-scanning technology to identify organised crime gangs that specialise in shoplifting.

A new police operation called Project Pegasus is also to be set up, funded by ten leading retailers including Tesco, Sainsbury’s and John Lewis

… and will also be put on a new app

Retail bosses are using a new smartphone app to warn each other about shoplifters operating in their area.

The app, called Disc, works by allowing businesses to upload reports of incidents, including images of the thief. Other stores can then access the information, alerting each another to the activities of prolific offenders.

Twenty-seven of the 43 police forces in England and Wales are also linked to the app, with more expected to sign up.

Disc’s managing director Steve Lang, a former police officer, told The Mail on Sunday: ‘Retail theft is far from a victimless crime. Prices rise, shops close, shop workers lose jobs and families struggle even more. Individual retailers cannot solve shop theft by themselves. Working in partnership is key.’

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