Unions have urged their members not to get involved, despite a rise in incidents across the country.
Security has been told not to intervene (Image: Getty)
Security guards have been advised not to stop shoplifters. Unions have instructed their members to keep watch for crime, report it and be a witness for police, instead of intercepting thieves themselves.
The Security Industry Federation (SIF) told guards not to put themselves “in harm’s way”, even though its general secretary, Daniel Garnham, conceded that this goes “against the instincts and principles of many good security professionals”. He added that security workers can’t carry “all of the personal and professional risk while others avoid responsibility”.
Mr Garnham added that security should do three things: “deter theft, protect staff and reassure the public”.
The retail union Usdaw also said that its members should not intervene and instead “keep themselves safe”. The GMB union said workers cannot be expected to “put themselves at physical risk just to protect [supermarkets’] bottom lines”.
Shoplifting has increased across the UK (Image: Getty)
Last year, there were more than 500,000 incidents of shoplifting in the UK – down 1% on the previous year.
However, the drop may reflect a change in how such offences are recorded.
Offences where someone has entered a retail premises, steals, then either uses or threatens violence against staff or other people should be classed as robbery of business, police forces were advised in April last year.
This may account for the steep increase in the number of such robberies recorded, which rose 78% to 26,158 in 2025.
The SIF said it would not budge on its current advice until supermarkets announced a universal policy on how to tackle shoplifters, the Telegraph reported.
GMB claimed it has been trying to raise industry standards with the Security Industry Authority (SIA), the government regulator for the security sector.
The union has alleged that the body has been ignoring it.
The SIA said: “Individual retailers set their own policies and procedures on how they detect, combat or respond to shoplifters. Security operatives have no more powers than any other private citizen and are not warranted.
“Operatives are taught the Law as it relates to the use of force. Operatives may use force where it is Lawful and in line with the policy of the retailer.
“The SIA is the regulator of the private security industry, we do not directly employ security operatives. We set training standards for licence-linked qualifications, which operatives must obtain before a licence is issued.
“The SIA training standards equip security personnel with legal knowledge, conflict management skills and practical physical intervention techniques. A key part of the training teaches operatives to continually assess risk when dealing with a conflict situation. This will include an assessment of any risk to themselves and members of the public.”
It added: “The SIA training standards are currently under review. We are working with the retail security sector to ensure the updated qualifications reflect the challenges facing security in retail and enable them to carry out their role within the limits of the law.
“It is likely that, where there is an expectation that an operative may need to use force, that this will be agreed beforehand by the retailer and the employer of the operative. This should be reflected in the deployment instructions. Any risk assessment relating to a particular deployment should consider where additional training is needed.”