Clamping down on shoplifting across West Sussex

West Sussex County Council will call on the county’s Police and Crime Commissioner to ensure that tackling retail crime is ‘not just a promise in the Police and Crime Plan but a visible policing reality’.

During a meeting of the full council on Friday (October 17), a motion was presented by Gary Markwell (Reform UK, Arundel & Courtwick), calling on leader Paul Marshall and cabinet member Duncan Crow to write to Katy Bourne and Chief Constable Jo Shiner.

Mr Markwell said: “We have all seen the social media posts and news reports showing people walking into shops, filling bags and walking out without paying. This is happening every day in West Sussex, multiple times a day.”

He spoke days after Mrs Bourne announced Operation STOP, which will bring in the electronic tagging of prolific shoplifters.

In the year ending March 2023, there were 6,056 recorded incidents of shoplifting in West Sussex. In the year ending March 2025, there were 9,086 – an increase of 50 per cent, with Worthing and Crawley showing the highest numbers.

But a report from the Association of Convenience Stores stated that only 36 per cent of all retail crime was reported to police, so the actual number of thefts is much higher than recorded.

The motion was supported by the other councillors, so Mr Marshall and Mr Crow will write to Mrs Bourne, asking for three things.

The first is a guarantee that reports of shop theft which have clear evidence, such as CCTV footage, will be investigated, even if the thief hasn’t been detained, so that both ordinary incidents and prolific offending are dealt with consistently.

The second is for clear operational guidance to be issued that retail staff are not expected to detain suspects, and that their safety comes first.

The third is that councillors be provided with an update setting out how the commitments will continue to be delivered in West Sussex, including
measurable outcomes.

James Walsh (Lib Dem, Littlehampton East) said thieves ‘flaunted’ their shoplifting – even when people knew who they were – and knew they could get away with it.

He added: “Yet nothing seems to happen with them. What we actually want from our Police & Crime Commissioner, holding the Chief Constable to account, is a real upsurge in activity to bring these people to account.”

Operation STOP (Shop Theft Offender Pilot) uses technology that is already being trialled in East Sussex, where Mrs Bourne said it was ‘delivering real results’. Once tagged, the thief faces exclusion zones around the shops from which they have stolen.

Mrs Bourne said: “As the national PCC lead for business and retail crime, I know the real impact shop theft has on local businesses and communities. Deterrents need to be more effective and punishments must be meaningful. Operation STOP is a proactive step forward in achieving this.”

No matter what efforts are made, shoplifting is not an issue that will disappear overnight.

As Sean McDonald (Con, Northbrook) said: “There are a huge amount of people who are just thieves. They steal something because they don’t want to pay for it.”