A prolific burglar who broke into a MRS store who stole £500 worth of sirloin and T-bone steak and 20 bottles of prosecco has become the first person to be jailed in a private prosecution.
David Hanson, 44, who had 105 previous convictions including 33 burglaries, was caught red-handed and arrested by two detectives from a private police station.
The M&S store manager in Streatham Hill had immediately called the police after catching Hanson stealing on CCTV, but despite the footage the Police met decided not to investigate.
Instead, the case was transferred to my TM Eye – a private detective company founded by former Scotland Yard Chief Detective David McKelvey.
The company, which employs both plainclothes and uniformed officers, has already helped prosecute 280 shoplifters, but the South London This case marks the first time a thief has been prosecuted.
David Hanson, 44, who had 105 previous convictions including 33 burglaries, was caught red-handed and arrested by two detectives from a private police station
The M&S store manager in Streatham Hill had immediately called the police after catching Hanson stealing on CCTV, but despite the footage the Met Police decided not to investigate.
It led to Hanson being jailed for a year for a total of five offences. These included four burglaries and one attack on an M&S employee, The Telegraph reported.
Officers studied footage of Hanson breaking through a glass window at M&S before making off with the expensive goods and quickly recognized him as a known shoplifter in the area.
Mr McKelvey told the newspaper: “He was wearing the same clothes he wore during the burglary.
'He was arrested and immediately confessed to the recent burglary and a previous burglary at the same property a few days earlier, which had also been written off by the police.
“The lesson is that every burglary deserves an investigation because there is always an opportunity to solve the case if you take the time to do the basics.”
Police bosses decided in October that officers would attend shoplifting incidents if violence was committed against employees, a suspected burglar was apprehended or if police were needed to gather evidence.
But many police departments said the plan was unrealistic because officers can't attend every shoplifting incident.
Hanson's conviction comes as shoplifting rose to an all-time high in April.
A total of 430,104 offenses were recorded by police in the year to December 2023, an increase of more than a third (37%) compared to 315,040 in the previous twelve months.
In the year to December 2023, a total of 430,104 offenses were registered by the police. This figure is the highest since current records began in the year to March 2003.
This secured bar of Dairy Milk Wholenut was spotted in a co-op in Codsall in Staffordshire
A Tesco branch in Theydon Bois, Essex, has placed security labels on shopping baskets
According to the Office for National Statistics (ONS), this figure is the highest since current records began in the year to March 2003.
Retail bosses accused ministers of allowing shoplifting to be effectively decriminalised, with many police forces failing to attend the majority of reports and failing to collect any evidence when they do.
Less than 40 percent of shoplifting reports were attended by the Met between April 2022 and April 2023as shown by recent figures.
The shoplifting epidemic has hit stores resort to desperate measures to protect the filesleaving shoppers this week stunned after seeing a £2 chocolate bar locked in a locker at a Co-op supermarket in Codsall, Staffordshire.
Meanwhile, a Tesco branch in Theydon Bois, Essex, has even started putting security tags on shopping baskets due to the increase in people to help themselves with 'five-finger discounts''.
Another Tesco has launched in Bristol checking customers on CCTV before entering the store, under a 'nightclub-style door policy''.
The Southville branch has also moved its shopping baskets further away from the doors to prevent thieves from stacking them with groceries and then emptying them.
MailOnline has contacted the Met for comment.