Tory police minister slaps down chief’s plea for cops to spare shoplifters stealing to eat | Police Minister Kit Malthouse said poverty ‘doesn’t cause crime’ as he rejected plea for cops to show ‘discretion’ in the cost-of-living crisis

26 comments

  1. > Kit Malthouse suggested there wasn’t a “connection between poverty and crime” in the cost-of-living crisis . . .

    > The £115,824-a-year minister added: “There’s a growing body of evidence that says poverty doesn’t cause crime – actually, crime and violence cause poverty.”

    HM chief inspector of constabulary [Andy Cooke](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Her_Majesty%27s_Inspectorate_of_Constabulary_and_Fire_%26_Rescue_Services#List_of_chief_inspectors) diverges from this viewpoint by telling the Guardian “petty crime fuelled by 40-year inflation highs would pose a challenge for policing.”

    Malthouse:
    > “I find his thinking a bit old fashioned on that school

    > “Because people are challenged financially – they are at the moment, I acknowledge that, the cost of living problems people are facing are very difficult for households up and down the land – the doesn’t necessarily mean they are going to turn to crime.”

  2. Some people will hate what I’m going to say but imo the police are right, I used to work a very very well paid job and then my partner became disabled and I had to give up work to be a full time carer, we have 3 kids, on the old benefits system and things are extremely tight, recently I started not scanning certain foods, I use self checkouts and the handheld scanners, I do alot of fruit and veg loose and weigh it out print the label and then not scan them, giving my family a healthy diet is a top priority and making sure there’s enough fruit and veg gets very expensive, I keep the labels incase the scanner decides I need a security check at the till and then I just say I forgot to scan the labels, it’s a desperate world out there

  3. Well somebody never studied crime and punishment at school.

    If you’re starving you will steal out of necessity, not out of any particular desire to commit a crime.

    edit: in fairness you shouldn’t need to study crime and punishment. some basic empathy would bring you to the same conclusion…

  4. This man has never skipped a meal or a snack…. Or a party donation… Or a second job.

    Everyone hates the cops…

    Even when they are right.

  6. >There’s a growing body of evidence that says poverty doesn’t cause crime – actually, crime and violence cause poverty.

    Ladies and gentlemen may I present the Tory worldview in a sentence. Poor people don’t commit crimes because they’re poor, they’re actually poor because they commit crimes.

    How we let these ghouls have actual power is beyond me.

  8. Poverty doesn’t cause crime eh?

    Is that because you tories aren’t poor and you guys still commit crimes, amarite?

  9. >”There’s a growing body of evidence that says poverty doesn’t cause crime – actually, crime and violence cause poverty.”

    Source: Trust me bro

  12. He must be so sad that you can no longer be transported to Australia for stealing a loaf of bread to feed your family.

  13. So this stupid cunt believes that poverty has no bearing on crime figures?

    How are stupid fucking cunts like this in charge of our country?

    Only consolation is when the poor do turn on the rich and start eating them, looks like he might provide more than a few meals.

  14. Maybe the police should investigate him seeing how they are not to skip any crime.

    That and poverty is most certainly linked to crime. Even a high school modern studies student knows that.

  15. “Poverty doesn’t cause crime” despite numerous studies showing that deprivation is the single biggest causational factor of crime.

    You fat, useless cunt, Malthouse.

  16. Is Kit starting to interfere in the operational independence of the police…

    This is the reason police officers have discretion, so stupid opinions and dictats from ministers don’t interfere with the administration of the law.

  17. Kit Malthouse is another Tory MP who lives in denial of reality.

    Poor health, poor mental health, poor romantic prospects, future low income, future low wealth, being the victim of crime, being discriminated against more for protected characteristics you have, child abuse, pretty much every bad thing happens more when you’re poor. And yes that especially includes falling through the cracks and/or losing hope and either turning to crime or being forced to.

    Also something causing something doesn’t mean it can’t be caused by it.

    This is the Tory ideology on display. “If you’re poor it’s because you’re bad”. If you are feeling the pinch right and voted Tory remember, they believe this is your fault. You do not deserve help, you can avoid this. Remember that when you vote for the rest of your life. They blame you for this. They don’t see you as being as good, ethical and proper. They claim £100,000s in expenses and watch porn while they determine your fate and they think they are better than you. Never forget.

  18. This is dumb as fuck. Of course he can’t come out and announce that you can shoplift to your heart’s content. People won’t differentiate between a megastore and your grandma’s corner shop. This isn’t like weed where it only affects the person doing the act.

    If you want to go this route just do it with a quiet directive to be more lenient not shout it from the rooftops.

  20. I’m not surprised by this. As a child in the 90s, I used to steal from shops to eat. Thankfully there wasn’t as many cameras around as there are today and I never got caught. When you’re desperate to eat, you will do anything. My parents were drink and drug addicts. So food was not a priority to them.

    I just feel so bad for people that have to do it now, I know how it feels.

  22. Its food. Theres only 1, ONE, reason to steal food. To EAT. People are STARVING. But hey, its just a crime, black and white, so screw starving people.

    Edit: ok there is more than one reason, I was pissed off and saw red. I know the struggle. And its being such a shame its being over shadowed because of shoplifters who steal for drugs/money. I’m human, I made a mistake. Just sad..

  24. Before the musical, « les Misérables » was adapted for tv, with Lino Ventura as Jean Valjean – Valjean is sent to prison for years, for stealing a loaf of bread to feed his nephews. This traumatised me as a young boy – I could not reconcile that society would punish you for an act that was essentially justified.

    In particular, there is a character, a police detective called Javert, who relentlessly pursues Valjean, even though he is a reformed character who does good in the rest of the story…

    Anyway, I can see the Tories have finally embraced their status in the story – no need to hide the cruelty with us all being in it together.

  25. And with a wave of a fleshy formless hand, Kit Malthouse dismissed an entire century of data and study into the correlation between socioeconomic status and crime. Jesus fucking christ I cannot stand tories.

  26. As a police officer, I’ll be honest, it’s exceptionally rare to come across a person who is stealing food because they can’t afford it and need it to survive.

    The vast majority of shoplifters are the drug users, who are stealing to then sell on the stolen goods, in order to pay for their fix.

    I’m not saying it doesn’t go on because it clearly does. By, I imagine, the security guards aren’t keeping their eye on ‘normal’ people who have fallen on hard times. They’re keeping their eye on the obvious drug users. Therefore, they are the ones we are most likely to catch.

    Also worth mentioning is that if it’s someone’s first offence, and they have clean character, it’s highly unlikely that they are going to be arrested for the shoplifting. If I was dealing with it, I’d try to offer a restorative justice approach which doesn’t end in a criminal record. Particularly if they are stealing as they really can’t afford to eat.

Leave a Reply