How’s this for daft - a policeman in Dorset has written to local shopkeepers recommending that they don’t detain shoplifters, or call the police, if the value of the stolen goods is less than £75. PC Plod says:
“It has been brought to my attention that once again we are detaining shoplifters whereby a low value of goods has been taken. An offence of shoplifting can extract two or more officers for up to two or three hours. I would like to recommend that the police are not called in the case of goods below a value of £75.”
He went on: “A further problem that can also be encountered is that when you have detained a person you have taken their liberty. If there is a delay in the arrival of the police, which does happen quite often, there could be a breach of human rights.”
In case you were wondering, for the local pet shop owner, £75 means 11 hamsters, or 3.5 rabbits.
Two thoughts:
First – has the PC in question considered the value of stopping and punishing shoplifters early, thus indicating to them that crime does not pay, and saving society from greater expense in the long run?
Second – if detaining someone in these circumstances could mean a breach of the detainee’s human rights, then who exactly has breached thise human rights? The shopkeeper, for detaining the person in the first place? Or the police, for taking too long to respond to a call?