A government agency in the United Kingdom called the Information Commissioner’s Office told businesses that putting up posters of suspected shoplifters may violate data protection laws, meaning they should be taken down.
The ICO said putting up these images “may not be appropriate,” adding that people can “only share personal information that’s proportionate to achieve your purpose,” The Times reported.
This development comes after police reportedly told a Wales shopkeeper to remove a sign classifying shoplifters as “scum,” per the British news outlet. Rob Davies from Wrexham, who runs a vintage clothing and accessories shop, was told the sign could be interpreted as “provocative and offensive.”
Despite the U.S. making strides in fighting against a woke dystopia, our cousins across the pond seem to be struggling.
But the story gets even worse.
Katie Lam, the member of Parliament for Weald of Kent, said one of her constituents who was “plagued by shoplifters” was told to take pictures of suspects down. This was despite having already given over CCTV footage, card details, and license plate numbers of the alleged offenders to police.
Lam claimed law enforcement took no action, except when they told the shop owner to take the pictures down “because of the General Data Protection Regulation.”
In other words, they care more about the privacy of a suspected thief than the actual crime itself. You can’t make this stuff up.
According to the ICO, “appropriate” steps for shop owners to take include providing a suspect’s information to police or sharing the incident with a manager. They can also alert their fellow store owners that are nearby.
Would you travel to the United Kingdom?
If businesses shared images directly or “in a staff room,” that’s apparently off limits, the article explained.
These proposed half-measures come at a time when shoplifting in England and Wales has hit a record high, according to the BBC.
“There were 530,643 reported shoplifting offences in the year to March, a 20 percent increase from the previous year, according to the Office for National Statistics,” the July report stated.
There have also been “sharp rises” in theft since the COVID lockdowns, and certain retailers told the BBC that gangs continue “hitting store after store.”
“The figures from the Crime Survey for England and Wales for the year up to March 2025 showed shoplifting offences were at the highest level since current police recording practices began in the year to March 2003,” the article concluded.
Telling shopkeepers they must remove images that could help citizens and police catch suspected thieves is a questionable policy.
If anyone were wrongfully accused of stealing, it shouldn’t be difficult for him to approach the business and ask why his image has been posted. If he’s innocent, he can explain the situation. If that doesn’t work, then he can appeal it to a higher authority.
But mandating that the pictures come down is pure insanity. It’s as if they want the robbers to get away with it. Perhaps their nation’s immigration crisis is playing a role in this chaos.
A March article from a U.K. think-tank called the Centre for Migration Control showed that “between 2021 and 2023 there were 108,132 convictions for theft in England and Wales with an identifiable nationality.”
“Of these, 12,320 were of foreign nationals (11.4%),” the story continued. “A further 1,545 were of individuals with an ‘unknown’ nationality, meaning foreign nationals could have accounted for up to 12.6% of all theft convictions.”
This could partially explain the rise in theft and why citizens are being fed politically correct solutions.
Even Prime Minister Keir Starmer said in May that Britain needs to “finally take back control” of its borders.
But talk is cheap. Can they really do it?
This is what happens when a society embraces socialism and political correctness, all while letting millions of migrants come pouring in without any regard for process or assimilation.
Sound familiar?
America must avoid this horrible fate by remaining tough on crime, strong on individual liberty, and steadfast on illegal immigration. Otherwise, the U.K.’s present could quickly become our future.
Advertise with The Western Journal and reach millions of highly engaged readers, while supporting our work. Advertise Today.
