Knife-wielding shoplifter threatens security guard in Luton supermarket over chocolate bars

A security guard in Luton was threatened with a knife after trying to stop a shoplifter attempting to steal two boxes of Galaxy chocolate bars from a supermarket.

The suspect pulled out a pen knife with an exposed blade when a Triton Security guard attempted to get the stolen goods back. As the guard stepped back and used his phone to call for assistance, the suspect became verbally aggressive.

Bedfordshire Police said: “We were called yesterday (Wednesday) after 9.30pm to a report of a man who had stolen boxes of biscuits from a store in The Mall, Luton. When approached the man is alleged to have produced a knife and ran away. No one was hurt during the incident and lines of enquiries are being carried out.

"We take incidents involving knives seriously and are urging anyone who saw the incident occur to call 101 or tell us online quoting reference 496 of October 4.”

Triton Security is urging caution in response to the Minister for Policing’s comments at the Conservative Party Conference. Chris Philip MP said: “The wider public do have the power of citizen’s arrest and, where it’s safe to do so, I would encourage that to be used because if you do just let people walk in, take stuff and walk out without proper challenge, including potentially a physical challenge, then again it will just escalate. While I want the faster and better police response, the police can’t be everywhere all the time.”

The security firm criticised the comments made by the MP for Croydon South.

Commercial director for Triton Security, Lauren Paver, said: “We share the concerns about the growing issue of shoplifting, but we strongly advise against members of the public attempting to detain suspected thieves. Our experienced security personnel have observed a disturbing increase in aggressive and violent behaviour from shoplifters when apprehended.

"This poses serious risks not only to the individuals attempting the arrests but also to innocent bystanders.”

Paver added: “This incident in Luton is just one example of the dangerous situations our security personnel face daily.”

The Union of Shop, Distributive and Allied Workers (Usdaw) share similar worries about the MP’s comments. Paddy Lillis, Usdaw general secretary, said: “This kind of ‘DIY policing’ is dangerous and irresponsible. The Minister needs to rethink his strategy, invest in putting more police on the beat and introduce a standalone offence for assaulting a shopworker, like they have in Scotland.

“Usdaw’s very clear advice to our members is not to intervene or try to detain a shoplifter, their priority is to keep themselves safe.

He added: “We are even more alarmed that he suggests the public should be performing citizen’s arrests in stores. Our members suffered firsthand when the public tried to police each other on Covid rules, with fights breaking out in aisles and shopworkers refereeing arguments between customers. We do not want to see a return to that.”