Rishi Sunak has launched a fresh crackdown on serial shoplifters, with the Government to make assaulting a shopworker a criminal offence.
Ministers had previously ruled out creating a separate criminal offence, insisting it was not "required". But the Government has now changed its position, with the prime minister announcing that the Criminal Justice Bill would be amended to bring in the new offence.
Judges already have the power to ban repeat offenders from certain shops under criminal behaviour orders, with breaches bringing a maximum sentence of five years. It comes after growing calls from this within the retail industry to bring in tougher measures to deter shoplifters from stealing and assaulting staff. Around 47,000 people in the UK have signed a petition that calls for the creation of a separate offence of assaulting a retail worker.
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