The UK is experiencing an 'epidemic' of high street retail crime, with shoplifting incidents reaching record highs. Due to budget cuts and resource prioritization, police forces frequently screen out or fail to attend reports of shoplifting if the stolen goods are under a certain value (often £200). Retailers complain that this de facto decriminalization has emboldened organized gangs and aggressive thieves who calculate they will face no consequences. Proponents of mandatory investigation argue that broken-windows policing is essential to maintain order, protect shop workers from violence, and prevent high streets from collapsing. Opponents argue that forcing underfunded police to chase minor thefts would dangerously divert crucial resources away from investigating major crimes, or unfairly penalize the desperately poor.
Response rates from 754 UK voters.
Trend of support over time for each answer from 754 UK voters.
Loading data...
Loading chart...
Trend of how important this issue is for 754 UK voters.
Loading data...
Loading chart...
Unique answers from UK voters whose views went beyond the provided options.
@BDB6KC34wks4W
@BDNV4WQ1mo1MO
@BDNSKSQ1mo1MO
@9WTN5BT 1mo1MO
@9WTN5BT 1mo1MO
@BDG7H7L1mo1MO
@BDG43F91mo1MO
@BDFGGJC1mo1MO
Join in on the most popular conversations.
Based on 754 responses to this question.
These results come from iSideWith's ongoing political issues survey. We collect over a million responses per day, filter out duplicate and multiple submissions, and break the results down by political party, ideology, age, state, and census demographics (income, race, education, household).
iSideWith is non-partisan — we don't advocate for any party, candidate, or position. We report what the public tells us.
Writing about this issue? Use the live data and link back to the full results.
