Elegant Georgian Bath – home of Jane Austen costume dramas – is suffering a shoplifting epidemic rising faster than anywhere else in Britain. Offences rose by 83% in the 12 months to September, faster than anywhere else in the country. This reflects a crisis in city centre policing across the nation.
Rough sleepers and drug addicts have plagued the centre of my home city for years under a council which sold their central police station years ago to be turned into student accommodation.
I’ve noticed the gradual tightening of security as stores with multiple entrances have closed them, leaving just one way in and out. But I certainly haven’t noticed any more policing on the street. When I first came to live in Bath 15 years ago, I’d see regular police on the beat – not anymore!
Just this week, two teenagers were arrested for allegedly stabbing a man just yards away from the historic Abbey. It’s fair to say there’s a growing sense of unease in Bath.
Downplaying the importance of shoplifting has resulted in a national surge in cases. With many perpetrators receiving only fines or community orders, it is a crime with a low level of punishment while the rewards can be enormous as multiple thefts can generate tens of thousands of pounds when the goods are sold on.
At the same time, police are being distracted by too many other demands. It has been estimated that recording incidents of non-crime hate incidents are taking up 60,000 hours of police officers’ time every year. That’s time better spent on the frontline of crimes that really impact our communities.
Bath may not yet be the most prolific city for shoplifting in England and Wales. That dubious honour belongs to Hartlepool with 223.7 offences per 10,000 people, compared with 138.6 per 10,000 in Bath, but it is ranked eighth overall, and rising fast.
The surge in shoplifting is fuelled by drug-takers and rough sleepers who, following the national trend, often work in organised gangs. One shopkeeper overheard a rough sleeper outside her store being interrogated by his handler, demanding he raise more money from begging.
Being a major tourist centre, Bath attracts beggars and criminals who see it as a soft touch. This was the message sent out when the city council sold off its city centre police station to Bath University in 2015 to be turned into student accommodation. It was replaced by a desk in the nearby One Stop Shop for council services.
Following general outrage, it was only announced earlier this year that a dedicated new police station will open in autumn 2025 – ten years after the last one was closed.
It probably doesn’t help either that the current Lib-Dem council seem to have a skewed sense of priorities, preferring to spend precious taxpayers’ money on new bicycle lanes and imposing low traffic neighbourhoods rather than stemming the rising tide of crime.
I’m sure Bath residents would rather see their money spent on far fewer bollards on streets and more police officers.
It’s also interesting to note all 30 cases handled by our local magistrates’ court yesterday were for driving offences, with most of them for speeding.
Perhaps it’s significant that a man who previously pleaded guilty to assault and use of threatening behaviour in Kingsmead Square, a pretty Georgian square notorious for drug dealing, was given a community order and fined £270, whereas a woman who exceeded a 20mph speed limit was ordered to pay £335.
As far as my city council is concerned, it often appears they’d rather dissuade drivers from entering Bath than deter shoplifters. I know which I’d rather they concentrate on and, when they do, they get results. A day of action last month by Avon and Somerset Police resulted in four prolific shoplifters appearing in court. One of no fixed abode admitted 18 thefts while another of no fixed abode was charged with 16 offences.
The national problem is that police time is spread too thinly and for too long shoplifting was considered a low-level crime. The result of this laxity has resulted in two thefts a minute across the nation amounting to £1.8billion in losses for retailers in 2023. This cost has to be borne by someone and it means higher prices for us all.
In the meantime the UNESCO World Heritage site of Bath needs to get a grip of its tidal wave of shoplifting or its worldwide reputation for historic charm will be replaced by the shadow of contemporary crime.
