The government is to tell chief constables to prosecute shoplifters stealing less than £200 after complaints from retailers that the police are no longer interested in smaller scale thefts.
It will also review legislation which gives the impression that police are not interested in investigating such low level crime.
The Home Office conducted a review of the abuse and physical violence faced by shop staff, which found retailers and shop staff had lost faith in the police and justice system being willing to tackle thefts from stores and other retail premises.
Kit Malthouse, the policing minister, is to write to chief constables and police and crime commissioners stating that the theft of goods valued up to £200 from a shop “should be prosecuted as a