Conservative Party officials will spend the months ahead of next year’s election trying to persuade voters they will be tough on crime. Yet by the government’s own admission, its plan to scrap short sentences will keep thousands of shoplifters out of jail.
It is already so rare for thieves to be apprehended by police officers that major retailers say criminals feel they have a “licence to shoplift.” Public order has degraded to such an extent that businesses that can afford it are turning to private detectives instead.
That’s worked so well in California!
