#labconf13 #TUC13 - #Austerity Britain: Starving families ‘stealing meat and cheese’ to survive as cuts continue to bite Starving families are being forced to shoplift so they can put food on the table, says one of Britain’s top police officers. He says they’re so desperate that they are stealing basics like meat and cheese. Lancashire Chief Constable Steve Finnigan said: “With regards shoplifting, we are seeing an increase. “The offenders are very often first-time offenders and when you talk to them, they are not doing this to sell stuff on. “The stuff they talk about is food stuff. “It is very often meat and cheese they are stealing and it is for themselves and their family.” Lancashire Police said it was unable to provide statistics, but officers were reporting a month-on-month increase in this type of shoplifting. Ros Duerden, from Blackburn Food Bank Support Group, said people were turning to crime because they were to "ashamed" to admit they needed help. She said: “A question at the back of our minds when we are deciding whether or not to issue vouchers is whether people are going to be pushed into shoplifting. “For some people it is also an issue of shame. “They do not want to come to a food bank and they will not necessarily ask for help. “They would rather go shoplifting because they think they can do that in secret.” Cases that have passed through magistrates’ courts in the county in the past few weeks include a 27-year-old woman, who stole a Greggs The Bakers tuna baguette worth £1.85, a man who took joints of meat from an Asda store and a 60-year-old man who stole instant mash and cheese from Iceland Foods worth just £4. Eileen Ansar, who volunteers with the food bank in Pendle, said: “People are getting so desperate that they are turning to crime. “You cannot blame them, all they want to do is feed their children. “It is a sorry state and there is a crisis. “This situation is turning us back to the ‘50s and ‘60s.” EAPN - European Anti Poverty Network Child Poverty Action Group (UK) - CPAG
Posted on: Tue, 24 Sep 2013 11:10:00 +0000
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