§ 20. Mr. AmessTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he has any plans to bring forward crime prevention initiatives to deal with the problem of shoplifting; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. John PattenDuring the last two years a working group of the Standing Conference on Crime Prevention has been looking at the question of shop theft. Over 3,000 copies of the group's report have now been issued, mainly to members of the retail trade. The majority of the report's recommendations are directed at the retail trade itself and we therefore welcome the group's most recent suggestion that the trade should mount a national publicity campaign aimed at informing the individual retailer of the problem of shop theft and the measures by which he can protect himself. We hope very much that such a campaign will be launched.