“We cannot prosecute our way out of addiction, homelessness and trauma”: Revolving Doors responds to Starmer “free-for-all” shoplifting claims
Speaking to retail union USDAW’s annual conference today (27 April 2026), Prime Minister Keir Starmer has described shop theft and the abuse of retail staff as a “free-for-all” situation, pledging to toughen punishments and reinforce neighbourhood policing. The Prime Minister’s speech comes as the Government’s Crime & Policing Bill is expected to receive Royal Assent in the coming weeks. This will make abuse and assault of retail workers a standalone offence.
In response, Revolving Doors Chief Executive Pavan Dhaliwal said:
“We cannot prosecute our way out of addiction, homelessness and trauma. We can protect shop workers and tackle root causes at the same time, in fact, we have to, because one without the other will fail.
We need to be clear about what problem we are trying to solve. Some retail crime is organised criminal activity, and that needs a robust policing response. But a significant amount of repeat shop theft is linked to people in deep crisis, addiction, homelessness, poor mental health, trauma and poverty. Those two groups need different responses.
The public do not want a choice between being tough on crime and tackling the causes of crime. They want both. If someone is repeatedly stealing to fund an addiction, the answer cannot just be arrest, custody, release, arrest, custody, release. That is not justice.
There is a more hopeful route. More than 329,000 adults were in contact with drug and alcohol treatment services last year, the highest number since reporting began. So we should be connecting people who repeatedly offend into treatment, recovery, housing and mental health support much earlier, with proper accountability.
Our concern is that simply creating another offence for assaults against shop workers is not a solution. It will drive more people into an already overcrowded prison system without changing behaviour. Government, police, health services and retailers should invest together in offender-to-recovery schemes that reduce repeat offending, protect staff, and stop the same people coming back through the same doors.”
L*, a Revolving Doors member, said:
“A few years ago, I walked into a shop, opened a can of beer, and began drinking it. I was then sent to prison for three weeks. I was struggling with mental health issues and my relationship was breaking down, which made these even worse. Alcohol was my way to cope and stealing that can of beer was the only way to fund my problems with alcohol. Going to prison for such a short time meant that I didn’t do anything meaningful, no gym, no mental health appointments, nothing. So, I just ended up sitting there, in my cell, waiting to leave, without doing anything that could have helped me turn my life around once I was out. What eventually helped me was getting the mental health support I needed, not prison.”
Revolving Doors’ research demonstrates that evidence-led community alternatives are the most impactful way to tackle the root causes of reoffending and create safer communities.
Find out more in Preventing the revolving door
