Firm dubbed Britain’s first ‘private police force’ takes suspected burglar to court after officers failed to investigate shoplifting spree
- TM Eye called after £500 of steak and 20 prosecco bottles were taken from M&S
A firm dubbed Britain’s first ‘private police force’ is to take a suspected burglar to court for the first time after officers failed to investigate a shoplifting spree.
TM Eye were called in after £500 of sirloin steak and 20 bottles of prosecco were taken from an M&S.
The private investigating force of former police detectives was called in after police decided not to investigate.
Two detectives were quickly able to identify a suspect on the store’s CCTV – making an arrest and allegedly getting a confession recorded on their body cams, the Telegraph reported.
The suspect – who faces a maximum of 14 years in prison – is now set to be prosecuted for five burglaries, including a second alledged offence at the same supermarket.
The private investigating force of former police detectives was called in after police decided not to investigate. Pictured: An officer from TM Eye
TM Eye were called in after £500 of sirloin steak and 20 bottles of prosecco were taken from an M&S. Pictured: File photos of the store’s prosecco and steak
‘The lesson is that every burglary deserves an investigation because there is always an opportunity to solve the case if you take the time to do the basics,’ TM Eye’s founder David McKelvey told the Telegraph.
READ MORE: Now shoplifting epidemic hits real-life setting of ITV crime hit Broadchurch as locals claim police are ‘not interested’
West Bay is the real-life setting of popular ITV crime drama Broadchurch, which starred David Tennant and Olivia Colman (pictured)
It comes after a Mail on Sunday investigation found retailers are spending £30 million a year on security and private ‘police forces’ to arrest and prosecute shoplifters after ‘giving up’ on getting help from the authorities.
The move has seen some of the biggest brands in the UK resorting to a private army of uniformed ‘officers’ to protect staff from increasingly brazen and violent shoplifters.
TM Eye employs 100 ‘bobbies’, who wear police-like uniforms with red stab-proof vests, and 28 plain-clothes detectives who mingle with shoppers.
Mr McKelvey, a former detective chief inspector at Scotland Yard, said: ‘Retailers have given up on police investigating shoplifting. That’s why we do these prosecutions.’
When the firm’s detectives arrest shoplifters, they hand them over to the police. But if they believe they have enough evidence, they send it to magistrates’ court to request a private prosecution.
Using its own team of lawyers, so far the company has prosecuted 300 thieves in court, winning 299 cases.
The spread of private policing comes as the UK faces a shoplifting epidemic, with more than ten million thefts every year – about 30,000 per day or one every two seconds.
The British Retail Consortium (BRC) said this summer shoplifting had risen 27 per cent across ten of the largest cities in the UK, with some cities up as much as 68 per cent.
TM Eye’s founder David McKelvey (pictured) was a a former detective chief inspector at Scotland Yard
It estimates that shops lost £953million to customer theft last year – the greatest loss on record in recent years.
Home Office data shows shoplifting rose by 24 per cent last year, as thieves take advantage of lax policing and a criminal justice system that lets off perpetrators without jail sentences.
And 88 companies, including Tesco, Sainsbury’s, WH Smith, Aldi, Primark and Superdrug, have written to the Government to demand action as Britain’s shoplifting epidemic spirals out of control.
The retail giants – who are usually bitter rivals – are urging the Government to make assaulting, threatening or abusing a retail worker a specific crime – something which exists in Scotland already.
‘This standalone offence would send an important signal that our colleagues will receive better protection in law and act as a deterrent to would-be offenders. This action should be taken without delay,’ the letter says.
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