Don’t let folks off if they steal food in desperation, minister tells police | Police

The policing minister, Kit Malthouse, has disputed the suggestion of the chief inspector of constabulary, Andy Cooke, that the price of living crisis will set off a rise in crime, branding it “old style” considering.

As inflation hit a 40-year high of 9%, Cooke said on Wednesday that officers should use their “discretion” when deciding whether to prosecute people who steal with the intention to eat.

Showing on ITV’s Good Morning Britain on Thursday, Malthouse, a longtime ally of Boris Johnson, said Cooke’s thinking was “old school”, including: “Because individuals are challenged financially … that doesn’t necessarily mean they’re going to turn to crime.”

The chief inspector of constabulary is the top of the unbiased assessor of police forces in England and Wales. Cooke, a former chief constable of Merseyside police, took over from Sir Tom Winsor in the function final month.

Malthouse has instructed officers to not let shoplifters off if they're stealing food out of desperation throughout the price of dwelling crisis.

He later informed LBC, ministers would guarantee police do not turn a blind eye to shoplifters stealing food.

“In fact I wrote to chief constables just a yr or so ago saying they shouldn't be ignoring these seemingly small crimes,” he said.

Earlier, the minister told Times Radio: “The broad rule is that justice ought to be blind and I hope and imagine that is the principle that sits behind not simply the police but the operation of the courts as well.

“I've to problem this connection between poverty and crime. What we’ve discovered previously, and the place there is now growing proof, is that really crime is a contributor to poverty. That if you happen to remove the violence and the crime from people’s lives they often prosper greater than they in any other case would.”

Cooke had earlier said: “The impression of poverty, and the impact of lack of opportunity for people, does result in a rise in crime. There’s no two methods about that.”

When asked how policing might keep away from being seen because the arm of an uncaring state, he mentioned forces throughout England and Wales were skilled in dealing with the tensions and dynamics of their communities.

“What they’ve obtained to keep in mind is what is the best thing for the community, and that particular person, in the best way they cope with these issues. And I definitely absolutely support cops utilizing their discretion – and they need to use discretion extra often.”