Quite a revelation
Yesterday we had a seminar with CEOs and chairmen of some very large and successful companies in the consumer goods and retail sector. This is part of the Conservative Party’s business relations initiative.
The one aspect which I personally found most shocking was the increasing level of violence and of shoplifting which is besetting the retail sector. The claim was made that this problem is of low order importance to the police. However, what really shook me is that all of this is essentially confined to Britain. The level of abuse, shoplifting and occasional violence commonplace here is virtually unknown in continental Europe. It is yet another aspect of the dysfunctionality of British society, despite an avalanche of criminal justice legislation.
I should add that assaults on staff in West Suffolk Hospital in the past year are up by 40%. It is sickening. For all the talk about being tough on crime and about social cohesion, the Government has failed to deal with this.