Don’t let people off in the event that 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 cost of dwelling disaster will set off a rise in crime, branding it “old school” thinking.

As inflation hit a 40-year high of 9%, Cooke mentioned on Wednesday that officers should use their “discretion” when deciding whether to prosecute individuals who steal in an effort to eat.

Appearing on ITV’s Good Morning Britain on Thursday, Malthouse, a longtime ally of Boris Johnson, said Cooke’s thinking was “old-fashioned”, including: “As a result of individuals are challenged financially … that doesn’t necessarily imply they’re going to show to crime.”

The chief inspector of constabulary is the head of the impartial 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 last month.

Malthouse has instructed officers to not let shoplifters off if they're stealing food out of desperation during the cost of living disaster.

He later told LBC, ministers would ensure police don't flip a blind eye to shoplifters stealing meals.

“In reality I wrote to chief constables only a year or so ago saying they should not be ignoring those seemingly small crimes,” he stated.

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

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

Cooke had earlier mentioned: “The impression of poverty, and the impact of lack of alternative for folks, does result in an increase in crime. There’s no two ways about that.”

When asked how policing could avoid being seen as the arm of an uncaring state, he said forces throughout England and Wales were expert in coping with the tensions and dynamics of their communities.

“What they’ve obtained to keep in mind is what's the smartest thing for the neighborhood, and that individual, in the way they cope with those points. And I certainly absolutely support law enforcement officials using their discretion – and they should use discretion extra often.”