PRIVATE SECURITY
A MAN wearing bulky clothes darts out of Marks & Spencer, triggering the security alarm.
He hurries down the street, glancing over his shoulder.
Hot on his heels are Shaun Kerrigan and colleague Ant, wearing casual clothes to blend in with shoppers. They close in on the man from either side.
“We’re arresting you on suspicion of shoplifting,” Shaun tells him, brandishing handcuffs.
They march the suspect back to M&S where, astonishingly, he unzips his coat to reveal FOUR jackets totalling £275 layered beneath his clothes, tags still on.
“This is straightforward shoplifting with no additional offences,” Shaun tells us, once he’s taken the 42-year-old suspect’s details.
“The value of the items is over £200 so [M&S] might want us to prosecute and they’ll likely give him a lifetime ban from their stores.”
Shaun might seem like a police officer but he works for private company TM Eye, whose teams patrol town centres, arrest suspects and prosecute prolific offenders.
Struggling
The outfit’s 130 uniformed and plain-clothes officers are making streets safer amid a shoplifting epidemic that has left businesses struggling and retailers terrified, because there are not enough police resources dedicated to fighting shoplifting.
While the government has recruited 20,000 police officers since 2019, critics argue that a similar number were cut by Tory-led administrations since 2010.
Founded by ex-scotland
Yard detective David Mckelvey, TM Eye, which also deals with pickpocketing and muggings, has been dubbed the UK’S first private police force. Funded by councils and Business Improvement Districts, its Prolific Crimes Team has brought some 300 prosecutions in four years with a 100% conviction rate.
We joined a TM Eye patrol after economic think-tank Onward last month urged ministers to recruit 19,000 more police officers to restore community policing.
It found despite recruiting 20,000 additional cops, the number dedicated to neighbourhood policing is 10% lower than in 2012. Police community support officer numbers have also nearly halved, it said.
The worrying shortage of neighbourhood bobbies comes after a record year for shoplifting, with 402,500 incidents logged in the 12 months to September.
Senior investigator Shaun says: “Shoplifting is one of the most under-reported crimes. Businesses
feel there is no point reporting it – they think the police won’t come. Our teams are bringing back street policing and becoming a familiar face for retailers and residents.
“At first, the powers that be were concerned that a private company was walking around carrying handcuffs, actively detaining shoplifters.
“They said, ‘This is the job of the police’, and we said, ‘It is, but it’s not being done, so we shall step in’.”
Shaun, who has a background in security, stresses: “We’re not vigilantes. We are not trying to replace the police – we have a great relationship with them and the CPS.
“Police want to arrest shoplifters but their system means taking someone into custody might take two officers off the street for the day, and then they’re there for hours interviewing the suspect, gathering statements and exhibits. We do the exact same thing.”
We shadowed Shaun and Ant in South-west London, where TM Eye is so well-regarded its staff are often the first people retailers call to report shoplifting. “Businesses feel any time they’ve reported it to police there’s no outcome or they might not attend,” Shaun explains.
Chase
In Richmond, officers are making up to five arrests a day, Shaun says – and within an hour we watch them detain the M&S suspect.
Ninety minutes later, we are patrolling Waitrose when a man runs out with two bottles of Lanson Champagne, worth £80. Shaun and Ant give chase and apprehend him.
‘‘ The shoplifting epidemic has left businesses struggling and retailers terrified to go to work