In Westminster Hall debate today on Retail Crime John added his voice esepcailly in support of small shops of which there are many in the constituency. John said that his concern lay with the many small and medium sized shops which characterised the High Streets in the constituency for whom the traditional ways of tackling retail crime were expensive and themselves imposed a burden such as CCTV.
John commented: "I do not think that a strategy that just takes the whole of the retail sector and applies solutions right across the board is at all appropriate for smaller shops. A few years ago, a study showed that even the smallest amount of shoplifting can have a major impact on the profitability of these shops. The effect is much greater than the percentage of shoplifting suggests, and that is particularly so in smaller shops where the margins are tighter. That is where we need to concentrate on tackling this crime.”
John also highlighted how drug-related cultures have a keen impact on the issue, particularly where shops are attacked to get alcohol and cigarettes.
He added: “This needs to be tackled on a cross-party basis as so many factors link with each other when it comes to tackling retail crime.”
