Retired police chief condemns old force for its ‘beyond a joke’ shoplifting record after watching have-a-go hero confronting brazen shoplifter
A retired police chief inspector has branded his old force’s shoplifting record ‘beyond a joke’ after a member of the public was forced to confront a brazen thief.
Chris Amey, who retired from the police in 2022 after 30 years service, has spoken out against Dorset Police following the incident in Bournemouth.
A member of the public had called 999 to report a theft in progress at an Asda store but was told by the call handler there were no officers available to send out.
Instead the citizen, who doesn’t want to be named, recorded the shoplifters, a man and a woman, strolling away from the supermarket carrying a haul of stolen items.
He followed the couple and challenged them, with footage showing him telling the male thief: ‘Just drop it and I’ll take it back.’ At one point he threatened to call the police, to which the shoplifter replied: ‘Good, call them.’
The have-a-go-hero eventually made them drop the goods, which he then returned to the shop.
Mr Amey said the incident was evidence shoplifters no longer ‘fear’ the police as officers are increasingly quitting the force over fears they are not being supported.
He said: ‘It is getting beyond a joke because shoplifting is going on everywhere and they are acting as if nothing is happening.
‘They are saying crime and anti-social behaviour is down but that is because nobody bothers to report it anymore.’
A shoplifter was caught on video being confronted by a have-a-go-hero after police refused to attend the crime
The man eventually makes the male shoplifter (pictured) drop his haul of stolen goods before returning them to the shop
David Sidwick, the Dorset Police and Crime Commissioner, recently boasted the county was safer than ever and that crime was falling.
He pointed to the force having an ‘outcome rate’ of over 70 per cent for shoplifting offences – above the national average.
He also recently heralded the arrival of 11 new police officers for Bournemouth town centre, a hotspot area for shoplifting and anti-social behaviour.
But Mr Amey accused Mr Sidwick of using ‘smoke and mirrors’ and said that if rates were down that is because have stopped reporting crime.
‘When the PCC talks about 11 new recruits to Bournemouth town centre, it is smoke and mirrors,’ Mr Amey said.
‘Crime and anti-social behaviour is not down , reported crime and anti-social behaviour is because people cannot be bothered to report it anymore .
‘You just need to look on social media to know what’s going on.
‘They don’t need to look at their crime figures, they need to get out there and see for themselves.’
David Sidwick, the Dorset Police and Crime Commissioner, who recently boasted the county was safer than ever and that crime was falling
Referencing the recent video, Mr Amey added: ‘I get why people don’t bother reporting crime when you look at cases like this one.
‘Members of the public are in the shop buying things and these two, brazen as anything, help themselves and the staff don’t challenge them.
‘When this man made the call to the police they said they didn’t have anybody available.
‘He has done the right thing and made them drop the stuff which he took back to the store.
‘If he had tried to make a citizen’s arrest who was going to come to his aid if they had started having a go at him back? There’s no deterrent and no fear of the police any more.
‘What are members of the public supposed to do when they see shoplifting in progress when we haven’t got the police response to back up?’
Mr Amey said shoplifting would have been treated differently 10 years ago,
He said: ‘These calls come in, ‘shoplifting in progress, two suspects making off being chased by member of the public’.
‘That is a call I would have gone to 100 per cent back in the day, by which time I mean about 10 years ago.’
Latest figures show that shoplifting offences on England and Wales rose 5 per cent in the year to September 2025, reaching 519,381.
Mr Amey believes the problem in Dorset lies with the lack of officer numbers.
He claims there is a high attrition rate and officers are leaving the force, with one reason being they do not feel supported.
Mr Amey cited the recent case of former police officer Lorne Castle who was sacked for using aggressive and used unreasonable force while arresting a 15-year-old boy carrying a knife.
He claimed there has been an unusually high number of police misconduct hearings in recent years and alleges this is a policy to get rid of senior officers on the cheap.
Mr Amey said: ‘Everybody is leaving because of welfare issues, not feeling supported and elongated misconduct investigations against colleagues.
‘The reason we are seeing more misconduct cases is that there is a clear plan to get rid of experienced officers because they cost too much money.
‘Matters that need a word of advice are going before disciplinary panels’
Dorset Police and Crime Commissioner David Sidwick insisted his force investigate ‘all reports’ of shoplifting.
He said: ‘Tackling shoplifting is a clear priority for Dorset Police and my office.
‘Together, we work tirelessly with the business community in Dorset to ensure prolific offenders are brought to justice through dedicated initiatives like Op Shopkeeper, and by making reporting easier as demonstrated by the introduction of a new digital reporting system.
‘In my role as PCC I scrutinise this work regularly, alongside the business community, and work closely with business owners and representatives to ensure their voices are heard by the Force.
‘I want to be very clear that Dorset Police investigate all reports of shoplifting no matter the scale, with most cases dealt with through Operation Shopkeeper involving low-value thefts.
‘The much-cited £200 threshold does not exist in Dorset.
‘I continue to urge businesses and members of the public to report shoplifting and for incidents where the offender has left the premises and there is no immediate threat, the online portal is the fastest way to report.
‘Every report made goes direct to the dedicated Retail Crime Team for investigation – so you really are making a difference by reporting and helping to build a wealth of information for the police.
‘I must stress that this takes minutes but helps to build a case against prolific offenders and ensures frontline officers are available for the most serious emergencies and incidents, keeping Dorset one of the safest places in the country.’
In response to the Asda shoplifting incident a spokesperson for Dorset Police said: ‘We received a report from a third party in relation a suspected shoplifting from the Asda store.
‘It was reported that the offenders involved had left the scene.
‘Following an assessment of the threat, risk, harm, vulnerability and availability of resources – with local officers committed on enquiries relating to a high risk missing person and other priority incidents – no officers were deployed to the scene.
‘The force became aware that images and a video of the reported suspects had been posted on social media.
‘Investigators are pursing these lines of enquiry, which were not made available at the time of the report.’
