A spike in shoplifting across Bracknell town centre have seen a call for action.

During a visit to the Waitrose store, MP James Sunderland and John Lewis’ security team spoke about the ‘eye-opening’ challenges that the retailers is facing both nationally and locally.

Calls for support are being proposed by the UK-retailer for harsher deterrents and quicker police responses.

This comes as Thames Valley Police in Bracknell have made it a priority to combat the rising levels of shoplifting and anti-social behaviour in the area.

He said: “This was an eye-opening insight into the challenges retailers face. These are huge employers, not only in my constituency but nationwide, so it’s important that we help them drive down crime and keep retail workers safe.

“I’ll be following up with discussion with my peers in government, and also Thames Valley Police to ensure we are working together to tackle this serious issue and protect people from antisocial behaviour.” 

According to the John Lewis Partnership team however, serious incidents are infrequent in Bracknell compared to their stores in London.

During their visit, MP James Sunderland vowed to bring up this issue in Westminster.

Waitrose partners are currently looking at the legislation already in place in Scotland which offers strengthened protection for retail workers.

Under the Protection of Workers (Scotland) Bill, if a retail worker is assaulted, threatened, or abused at work, the offender can face a fine, or even a prison sentence.

Waitrose is amongst the supermarkets, and trade body BRC, backing calls for a similar bill to be introduced elsewhere in the UK.

Speaking of the visit, Lucy Brown, Director of Security for the John Lewis Partnership, added: “Cracking down on crime not only keeps our Partners safe, but has huge benefits for customers too, so we’re already introducing new ways to catch and discourage culprits. 

“It costs supermarkets millions each year too, money we want to be able to invest in areas like product innovation, lowering prices and supporting British farmers.

“This issue isn’t specific to us - in fact many other retailers will be seeing an even greater impact - which is why we’re working in collaboration to tackle it. We’re hugely grateful for James taking time to visit, for his commitment to raise awareness of the matter, and to understand the challenges retailers face firsthand.”