Why you should confront the next shoplifter you see

Physical courage isn’t my most obvious quality. I hope, if push came to shove, I’d stand up for myself (I certainly would if someone threatened my family) but I generally like to steer clear of trouble. So, what am I, and the rest of us, meant to make of comments by Thames Valley Police and Crime Commissioner, Matthew Barber, that we should challenge shoplifters rather than just relying on the police? If we don’t do anything, if we just stand and watch, are we, as Barber says, ‘part of the problem’?

Well, some might think it better to be part of the problem than risk a knife to the gut. We’ve seen CCTV video of shoplifters, and many look pretty unsavoury, only too ready to use a concealed weapon to eliminate someone in their way. And we’ve read about have-a-go-heroes who ended up in hospital or, worse, a morgue – like father of two, Tasawar Hussain, who was shot dead after he chased robbers fleeing in a getaway car.

There’s not much public research, as far as I can see, into people’s attitudes to this, but a few years ago, a YouGov survey reported that two-thirds of us would walk on by if we saw a group of teenagers abusing someone in the street. Only 6 per cent of those surveyed said that they would ‘definitely intervene’, with 21 per cent saying they ‘probably’ would. In short, and perhaps understandably, most people don’t want to risk their own safety to help out a stranger.

In any case, we might also ask ourselves why we should put ourselves in harm’s way when the police often appear too busy arresting people for social-media posts than tackling burglaries, robberies and thefts, and when we hear that the Information Commissioner’s Office has advised retailers not to put up photos of thieves for data-privacy reasons. It’s hard – as someone who believes free speech is under serious assault in this country, while being appalled at how shoplifting is spiralling – to disagree with those frustrated with the authorities here.

Yet, I can’t help thinking that Matthew Barber also has a point. Decent, well-functioning societies are rich in what sociologists like Robert Putnam call ‘social capital’, with high levels of trust, community cohesion and a sense of social obligation. Yet, in Britain, as the decades have gone by, we have lost all that, to the extent that too many people – ‘scumbags’ as one poor shopkeeper correctly calls them – have no sense of shame or obligation to the rest of us, and just casually help themselves to whatever they fancy.

If we leave it to the police to try to reverse this societal breakdown, we’ll get nowhere. The problem is too enormous. The only solution is for all of us to be involved, and that must mean taking on the responsibility for at least challenging, if only verbally, shoplifters and fare dodgers.

Of course, it must also mean conducting an instant risk-analysis. It’s no good trying to citizens-arrest someone who’s nicking a few tubs of Flora, but who’s also carrying a blood-stained machete. There are limits.

But, as Barber says, we can often do more than just watch passively. We can at least call out the shoplifters and give every possible support to any poor shopkeeper who is otherwise helplessly overwhelmed. If we are physically able, we can prevent fare dodgers from barging through the barriers.

This can be scary, no question. A few weeks ago, I approached a London Tube exit barrier and became aware that someone was close behind me, almost touching, clearly intent on skimming through right behind me before the gates closed. I don’t often see red but I did on that occasion (admittedly with a bit of Dutch courage), so I stood in his way and told him to ‘bloody well buy your own ticket’. Okay, I got a few verbals back, and it was something of a risk as he looked a good three decades younger than I am, and I’m sure could have flattened me with one big swing of his fist. But it did feel like a victory, albeit a tiny drop in that great ocean of low-level London criminality.

Matthew Barber has taken some abuse for his comments, but he’s actually more diplomatic with his language than I’d like him to be. As a nation we have become cowered, passive and intimidated by the growing number of criminals whose increasing boldness depends on the rest of us doing nothing. We stand and wait for the police, or other agents of the big state to act, just like standing and waiting for our lottery numbers to come up. That’s why the plague of low-level shoplifting and fare-dodging gets ever worse.

So, it’s time to take a deep breath and step in to shame the criminals. Barber’s right: the law-abiding majority must fight back.