Total votes
5-11 votes
11-16+ votes
Stacey Dooley’s Meet the Shoplifters on BBC Three inspired this VoteTopic, as it triggered a national conversation into the motivations behind shoplifting and why it has skyrocketed in recent years. Voters explored these reasons, alongside the measures currently in place to reduce instances of theft in shops, before deciding whether we need to go to greater lengths to prevent and punish the crime.
Primary 5-9 pupils discussed, “Is it easy to respect other people's belongings?”, while Primary 9-11 pupils considered "Should shops do more to reduce shoplifting?" and Secondary and College students explored, “Should shoplifting below £200 be treated more seriously?”
60,328 young people took part in this vote.
We think that reducing self-checkouts might help prevent shoplifting. Also, more security tags on items. We also think that shoplifters will still try to steal if there are a lot of security measures in place.
No, it could be a minor mistake, people are struggling with costs of living. A longer, harsher punishment is not fair. Sometimes people steal small amounts, a harsher punishment would be disproportionate.
There needs to be a stronger deterrent for shoplifting. We have to line up outside Tescos as they don't trust any young people not to shop lift and that isn't right.
Thank you to Paul Gerrard, Government Relations Director at Co-op and Helen Dickinson, Chief Executive at the British Retail Consortium for responding to young people's voices on this VoteTopic!
Helen Dickinson (She/Her), Chief Executive at the British Retail Consortium:
“Retail crime is a serious issue, costing retail businesses over £4 billion every year. That’s money which would be better spent reducing the cost of the things we buy or improving our shopping experience in stores and online. The government is clearly concerned, as they are introducing new laws to ensure that theft of items below £200 is treated similarly to theft that is above this amount. We hope this will send a clear message to would-be criminals that all theft is illegal and will not be tolerated. Many of us will have witnessed theft in our own area, and these debates give us a better opportunity to understand the impact it has on both individual stores and wider society.”
