DAVID BLUNKETT, the home secretary, is facing a backlash against plans that will in effect decriminalise shoplifting.

From next month, police will be encouraged to punish offenders stealing goods worth up to £200 with on-the-spot fines similar to parking tickets.

The plan — which will allow offenders to escape without a criminal record — has drawn fierce criticism from retailers and police. They fear that by putting theft on a par with minor motoring offences, the plan will suggest shoplifting is no longer a crime.

Vandals who cause less than £500 damage will also avoid prosecution as police are allowed to issue fixed-penalty notices for such offences.

Kevin Hawkins, director-general of the British Retail Consortium, has written to home office minister Hazel Blears, accusing her of misleading the industry over the seriousness of offences under the scheme.

The industry believed the £80 fines would only be used on minor offences such as the theft of sweets, whereas taking goods worth £200 represents a significant loss for shops.

Hawkins writes: “These new measures represent a backward step in crime detection and prevention. These (fixed penalties for shoplifting up to £200 of goods and £500 criminal damage) cover the majority of shop theft and are backed by a token, non-criminal penalty that sends a message of tolerance from government to criminals.”

One police officer who leads a group representing victims said the notices were likely to prove unpopular. Norman Brennan, of the Victims of Crime Trust, said: “It is almost a licence to shoplift or commit criminal damage . . . We are almost decriminalising theft. I speak to many officers and I am yet to meet one who approves of this initiative.”

Critics fear shoplifters could profit by, for example, raiding 10 shops, taking goods worth less than £200 each, getting caught once and escaping without a criminal record. “The reality is that for first-time offenders, although it is the first time they have been caught, it is not the first time they have offended,” said Glen Smyth, the Metropolitan police federation chairman.

The notices were introduced in pilot areas in 2002. The £80 fines are now being extended to criminal damage of up to £500 and alcohol offences as well as shoplifting from November. Offenders are given 21 days to pay, though in pilot areas 47% of fines went unpaid.

Additional reporting: Sarah Keenlyside

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