The store owner, who dragged a frightening thief back to his store, said the man’s punishment had sent the wrong signal to other potential criminals.
Shoplifter casually opened a tin Foster’s Lager when he left the main convenience of Durhame without paying for a 10 -pound sterling box Lager.
However, he was stopped by the store owner Andrew Board, who grabbed him and returned it to the entrance.
Despite Mr. Board’s bold action, Durham Constabular officials did not take the issue in court after finding a suspect who confessed to the crime.
Instead, it was dealt with through a community resolution, often used for minor crimes or cases of anti -social behavior, and this does not cause criminal record.
According to the resolution, the offender returned the money for beer and was banned from entering the store.
Andrew Board, who controls the main convenience of Durhame, chased after a shop that was later granted a community resolution (Alex Ross/The Independent)
“This is the wrong signal and encourages the problem,” Mr. Board. “Then the person knows that they can steal the way they want, and if they are caught, then they will just have to pay for the goods.
“Basically, there were no punishments for trying to steal the goods. He could get rid of paying, but when I caught him, he was just forced to pay for it. No discouragement in legal terms of any deterioration.”
Mr Board said he had faced several shopping incidents at his store every week.
For theft, he had to do several citizens’ arrests and strengthen the CCTV system in the store.
The shelves had to be removed from some often targeted items, including Lurpak butter, 20 can be Budweiser packaging and large bottles of comfort softener.
Mr. Board’s fight against Shoplifters reflects the national problem when police receive a record number of reports of shopping last year. However, most of the offenses reported do not cause punishment.
Home Bureau data analyzed Independent showed that only 18 percent of stores were accused or invited to court by 2023/24. In England and Wales.
In more than half (56 %), the police did not identify the suspect and the case was annulled.
27 % of those who were convicted of shopping in England and Wales last year. Received a custodial sentence.
Mr Board said the criminal’s resolution on the crime was “probably the best opportunity to recover money quickly” by the criminal resolution.
But he added: “It should not be like that. We should get the money quickly and they should be punished.”
Last week, Yvette Cooper, Secretary of the Interior, announced that additional officers would be deployed on the streets of 500 cities when they dealt with shops and anti -social behavior in the summer.
She said: “Residents and companies have the right to feel safe in their cities. But the last government left surge of shop theft, street crime and anti -social behavior, so too many city centers left abandoned.
“It’s time to turn this round, so I invited both police forces and councils to work together to present a summer blitz in the city center crime, to send a clear message to people who suffer from our cities to prevent their crimes.”
A spokesman for Durham Constabulary said: “We take this type of crime very seriously and work hard to solve this problem in our area.
“Much of the store violations are opportunistic and committed by people with drug addiction or alcohol. That is why, as a force, we need to look at a bigger picture and find out why people are offended first and seek to solve the main causes of insult.”