Police should use 'discretion' over prosecuting people stealing to eat in cost of living crisis, says top cop boss

Police should use 'discretion' when deciding whether to prosecute desperate shoplifters amid the cost of living crisis, the new HM chief inspector of constabulary said.

Andy Cooke said that he expects to see a rise in petty crime amid rising poverty levels. Speaking to The Guardian, as inflation hit a 40-year high in April, he said: "I think whenever you see an increase in the cost of living or whenever you see more people dropping into poverty, I think you’ll invariably see a rise in crime.

"And that’s going to be a challenge for policing to deal with."

READ MORE: Cost of living crisis: Urgent warning issued to people struggling financially not to reduce pension contributions

Speaking about his advice for officers, Mr Cooke added: "What they’ve got to bear in mind is what is the best thing for the community, and that individual, in the way they deal with those issue. And I certainly fully support police officers using their discretion – and they need to use discretion more often."

Mr Cooke said he was not 'giving a carte blanche for people to go out shoplifting', but wanted officers to ensure cases were 'dealt with in the best way possible'. He added that he hoped to pull the current 6 per cent charge rate for recorded offences up to 20 per cent, and to ensure every burglary victim should receive a visit from police.

What do you make of his comments? Have your say below.

Mr Cooke has worked in policing since 1985 including as Chief Constable of Merseyside Police until taking over as HM chief inspector of constabulary from Sir Tom Winsor in April.

His comments came as data released yesterday (May 18) from the Office for National Statistics showed that inflation hit 9 per cent in the year to April, as measured by the