Police Minister Diana Johnson to visit Ipswich after invite from Jack Abbott amid ‘record increase’ in shoplifting in Suffolk

Police Minister Diana Johnson is set to visit Ipswich after figures revealed a spike in shoplifting across Suffolk.

On July 29, Ipswich MP Jack Abbott raised a ‘record increase’ in retail crime in the House of Commons before extending an invite to visit the town to Dame Diana, which was accepted.

Parliament figures suggested that police-recorded incidents of shoplifting increased by 36 per cent in the two years leading to March 2024.

Further figures released by the Union of Shop, Distributive and Allied Workers in March found that 18 per cent of shop workers reported being physically assaulted in the workplace, while 70 per cent experienced verbal abuse in what it described as a ‘retail crime epidemic’.

While numbers have fallen from pandemic levels, they still remain above figures from before Covid-19, the report said.

Addressing the Commons, Mr Abbott said: “Record rates of retail crime and shoplifting are a blight on our high streets, including ours in Ipswich, where too often such instances act as a flashpoint for completely unacceptable levels of violence, threats and abuse directed towards retail workers themselves.”

Labour has pledged to introduce a standalone offence for attacking a shop worker and crackdown on shoplifters who steal more than £200.

The Government also claimed it wished to hold police to account on its Retail Crime Action Plan.

Mr Abbott felt the pledges would be good for retail staff.

“I very much welcome the government’s commitment to ending the £200 threshold for prosecuting shoplifters and the introduction a standalone offence that will give shop workers the protection they need,” he said.

He added: “Will the minister join me in Ipswich to meet with local retail staff, so she can hear about their experiences and the vital difference these steps will make?”

A date has yet to be confirmed for the visit.