A government agency has advised British business owners not to shame shoplifting suspects by posting pictures in their shops.
Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has issued advice warning that it “may not be appropriate” to post pictures of shoplifters, the Times of London reported.
According to the data watchdog, it would be “appropriate” for businesses to forward information to police or to share a suspect’s identity with managers of fellow shop owners.
However, it said that it would be wrong to post pictures of thieves in shop windows or in public areas like lampposts. The ICO stated that posting pictures in staff rooms or sharing them with other businesses would also be wrong.
The regulator reportedly said: “You must only share personal information in a way that’s proportionate and necessary to achieve your purpose.”
The advice comes in the wake of police demanding that a vintage clothes shop owner in Wales take down a sign describing shoplifters as “scum” as it might be taken as “provocative and offensive”.
Last month, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) revealed that shoplifting hit a record high in the year up to March, with 530,643 incidents recorded. This represented a 20 per cent increase over the previous year.
British Retailers Association director Tom Ironside told the BBC that shoplifting was “spiralling out of control” and said that organised crime has become heavily involved in retail theft.
“The rise in organised crime is a significant concern, with gangs hitting store after store, even within a single day,” he said. Ironside said that shoplifting is costing business owners and customers around £2.2 billion ($2.95bn) per year.
Conservative MP Katie Lam lamented last week: “Our system should crush the lawless and protect the law-abiding. It does the opposite.”
The Weald of Kent lawmaker said that one of her constituents, who had been “plagued by shoplifters,” was told by police to remove pictures of suspects for supposedly violating data protection regulations. Lam claimed that despite the retailer providing police with CCTV footage, credit card details, and licence plate numbers, no action was taken against the suspected thieves.
