{"id":2473565,"date":"2025-08-11T21:24:18","date_gmt":"2025-08-12T01:24:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/uk-watchdog-warns-shop-owners-not-to-post-provocative-pics-of-shoplifters-could-be-offensive-to-them\/"},"modified":"2025-08-11T21:24:18","modified_gmt":"2025-08-12T01:24:18","slug":"uk-watchdog-warns-shop-owners-not-to-post-provocative-pics-of-shoplifters-could-be-offensive-to-them","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/uk-watchdog-warns-shop-owners-not-to-post-provocative-pics-of-shoplifters-could-be-offensive-to-them\/","title":{"rendered":"UK Watchdog Warns Shop Owners Not to Post &#8216;Provocative&#8217; Pics of Shoplifters \u2014 Could Be &#8216;Offensive&#8217; to Them"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">36<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fuk-watchdog-warns-shop-owners-not-to-post-provocative-pics-of-shoplifters-could-be-offensive-to-them%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2473565&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><div id=\"ld-4686-3758\"><\/div>\n<p><script>(function(w,d,s,i){w.ldAdInit=w.ldAdInit||[];w.ldAdInit.push({slot:14832835450050406,size:[0, 0],id:\"ld-4686-3758\"});if(!d.getElementById(i)){var j=d.createElement(s),p=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0];j.async=true;j.src=\"https:\/\/cdn2.decide.dev\/_js\/ajs.js\";j.id=i;p.parentNode.insertBefore(j,p);}})(window,document,\"script\",\"ld-ajs\");<\/script><\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<p><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><\/p>\n<section> \t\t\t\t<script>console.log(\"ad slot (AC1)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC1)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC2)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC3)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC4)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (REP_0)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (REP_1)\")<\/script><\/p>\n<p>A government agency in the United Kingdom called the Information Commissioner&rsquo;s Office told businesses that putting up posters of suspected shoplifters may violate data protection laws, meaning they should be taken down.<\/p>\n<p>The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.gov.uk\/government\/organisations\/information-commissioner-s-office#:~:text=The%20Information%20Commissioner's%20Office%20(ICO,for%20Science%2C%20Innovation%20and%20Technology.\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">ICO<\/a> said putting up these images &ldquo;may not be appropriate,&rdquo; adding that people can &ldquo;only  personal information that&rsquo;s proportionate to achieve your purpose,&rdquo; The Times <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thetimes.com\/uk\/crime\/article\/wanted-posters-of-shoplifters-cause-offence-says-data-watchdog-x7cg2qcd0\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">reported<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>This development comes after police reportedly told a Wales shopkeeper to remove a sign classifying shoplifters as &ldquo;scum,&rdquo; per the British news outlet. Rob Davies from Wrexham, who runs a vintage clothing and accessories shop, was told the sign could be interpreted as &ldquo;provocative and offensive.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Despite the U.S. making strides in fighting against a woke dystopia, our cousins across the pond seem to be struggling.<\/p>\n<p>But the story gets even worse.<\/p>\n<p> <script type=\"text\/javascript\"> \t\t\tif ( getCookie( \"ff_subbed\" ) ) { \t\t\t\tdocument.getElementById(\"stnvideo\").remove() \t\t\t} else { \t\t\t\tdocument.addEventListener(\"DOMContentLoaded\", function() { \t\t\t\t\tfunction loadScript(src) { \t\t\t\t\t\tconst script=document.createElement(\"script\"); \t\t\t\t\t\tscript.src=src; \t\t\t\t\t\tscript.async=true; \t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.body.appendChild(script); \t\t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\t\tfunction findPreviousParagraph(selector, x) { \t\t\t\t\t\tconst targetElement=document.querySelector(selector); \t\t\t\t\t\tif (!targetElement) { \t\t\t\t\t\t\tconsole.warn(\"Target element not found.\"); \t\t\t\t\t\t\treturn null; \t\t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\t\t\/\/ Get all <\/p>\n<p> elements in order as they appear in the document \t\t\t\t\t\tlet paragraphs=Array.from(document.querySelectorAll(\"p\"));  \t\t\t\t\t\t\/\/ Find the index of the last <\/p>\n<p> before the target element \t\t\t\t\t\tlet targetIndex=paragraphs.findIndex(p=> p.compareDocumentPosition(targetElement) & Node.DOCUMENT_POSITION_PRECEDING);  \t\t\t\t\t\tif (targetIndex===-1 || targetIndex <x) { \t\t\t\t\t\t\tconsole.warn(\"Not enough paragraphs before the target element.\"); \t\t\t\t\t\t\treturn null; \t\t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\t\treturn paragraphs[targetIndex - x]; \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\t\/\/ Set up IntersectionObserver \t\t\t\t\tfunction observeElement(element) { \t\t\t\t\t\tif (!element) return;  \t\t\t\t\t\tconst observer=new IntersectionObserver( \t\t\t\t\t\t\t(entries)=> { \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tentries.forEach(entry=> { \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tif (entry.isIntersecting) { \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tconsole.log(\"Paragraph is now visible:\", entry.target.textContent.trim()); \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tloadScript(\"https:\/\/embed.sendtonews.com\/player3\/embedcode.js?fk=s28Az7AY\"); \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tobserver.disconnect(); \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t}); \t\t\t\t\t\t\t}, \t\t\t\t\t\t\t{ threshold: 0.5 } \/\/ Adjust threshold as needed \t\t\t\t\t\t);  \t\t\t\t\t\tobserver.observe(element); \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\t\/\/ Find the 1st paragraph before #stnvideo and observe it \t\t\t\t\tlet paragraphToObserve=findPreviousParagraph(\"#stnvideo\", 2); \t\t\t\t\tobserveElement(paragraphToObserve); \t\t\t\t}); \t\t\t} \t\t<\/script> <\/p>\n<p>Katie Lam, the member of Parliament for Weald of Kent, said one of her constituents who was &ldquo;plagued by shoplifters&rdquo; was told to take pictures of suspects down. This was despite having already given over CCTV footage, card details, and license plate numbers of the alleged offenders to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/5-years-later-dem-run-cities-reaping-sowed-defund-police\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">police<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Lam claimed law enforcement took no action, except when they told the shop owner to take the pictures down &ldquo;because of the General Data Protection Regulation.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>In other words, they care more about the privacy of a suspected thief than the actual crime itself. You can&rsquo;t make this stuff up.<\/p>\n<p>According to the ICO, &ldquo;appropriate&rdquo; steps for shop owners to take include providing a suspect&rsquo;s information to police or sharing the incident with a manager. They can also alert their fellow store owners that are nearby.<\/p>\n<p>If businesses d images directly or &ldquo;in a staff room,&rdquo; that&rsquo;s apparently off limits, the article explained.<\/p>\n<p>These proposed half-measures come at a time when shoplifting in England and Wales has hit a record high, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.com\/news\/articles\/cq8z8kdd8zvo\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">according<\/a> to the BBC.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;There were 530,643 reported shoplifting offences in the year to March, a 20 percent increase from the previous year, according to the Office for National Statistics,&rdquo; the July report stated.<\/p>\n<p>There have also been &ldquo;sharp rises&rdquo; in theft since the COVID lockdowns, and certain retailers told the BBC that gangs continue &ldquo;hitting store after store.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;The figures from the Crime Survey for England and Wales for the year up to March 2025 showed shoplifting offences were at the highest level since current police recording practices began in the year to March 2003,&rdquo; the article concluded.<\/p>\n<p>Telling shopkeepers they must remove images that could help citizens and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/philadelphia-officer-killed-airport-parking-garage-shooting-reward-growing\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">police<\/a> catch suspected thieves is a questionable policy.<\/p>\n<p>If anyone were wrongfully accused of stealing, it shouldn&rsquo;t be difficult for him to approach the business and ask why his image has been posted. If he&rsquo;s innocent, he can explain the situation. If that doesn&rsquo;t work, then he can appeal it to a higher authority.<\/p>\n<p>But mandating that the pictures come down is pure insanity. It&rsquo;s as if they want the robbers to get away with it. Perhaps their nation&rsquo;s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/watch-beachgoers-take-matters-hands-boatload-illegal-aliens-washes-ashore\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">immigration<\/a> crisis is playing a role in this chaos.<\/p>\n<p>A March <a href=\"https:\/\/www.migrationcentral.co.uk\/p\/over-100000-foreign-national-convictions\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">article<\/a> from a U.K. think-tank called the Centre for Migration Control showed that &ldquo;between 2021 and 2023 there were 108,132 convictions for theft in England and Wales with an identifiable nationality.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Of these, 12,320 were of foreign nationals (11.4%),&rdquo; the story continued. &ldquo;A further 1,545 were of individuals with an &lsquo;unknown&rsquo; nationality, meaning foreign nationals could have accounted for up to 12.6% of all theft convictions.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>This could partially explain the rise in theft and why citizens are being fed politically correct solutions.<\/p>\n<p>Even Prime Minister Keir Starmer <a href=\"https:\/\/www.lemonde.fr\/en\/immigration\/article\/2025\/05\/12\/starmer-vows-to-finally-take-back-control-of-uk-borders_6741174_144.html#\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">said in May<\/a> that Britain needs to &ldquo;finally take back control&rdquo; of its borders.<\/p>\n<p>But talk is cheap. Can they really do it?<\/p>\n<p>This is what happens when a society embraces socialism and political correctness, all while letting millions of migrants come pouring in without any regard for process or assimilation.<\/p>\n<p>Sound familiar?<\/p>\n<p>America must avoid this horrible fate by remaining tough on crime, strong on individual liberty, and steadfast on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/ice-just-set-new-record-illegal-aliens-detained-one-time-american-history-report\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">illegal<\/a> immigration. Otherwise, the U.K.&rsquo;s present could quickly become our future.<\/p>\n<div style=\"position: relative;\">\n<div class=\"ff-fancy-header-container\"> \t\t\t \t<\/div>\n<div class=\"entry-submit-correction inner-content\">\n<div class=\"correction-form\">\n<form style=\"display: none;\">\n<div class=\"sc-name-field\"> \t\t\t\t\t\t<label>* Name<\/label> \t\t\t\t\t\t<br \/> \t\t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"text\" name=\"name\" required> \t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<div class=\"sc--field\"> \t\t\t\t\t\t<label>* <\/label> \t\t\t\t\t\t<br \/> \t\t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"text\" name=\"\" required> \t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<p> \t\t\t\t\t<label>* Message<\/label> \t\t\t\t\t<br \/> \t\t\t\t\t<textarea name=\"message\" required><\/textarea> \t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<div class=\"required-message\" style=\"display: none; padding-bottom: 15px;\">* All fields are required.<\/div>\n<p> \t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"submit\" value=\"Submit\" onclick=\"event.preventDefault(); firefly_sc();\"> \t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<div class=\"firefly-sc-confirm\" style=\"display: none;\">Success!<\/div>\n<\/p><\/form>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p> \t\t<script> \t\t\tfunction firefly_sc() { \t\t\t\tif( typeof window.captchaPublicKey==typeof undefined ){ \t\t\t\t\tconsole.error('window.captchaPublicKey is not defined'); \t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\tgrecaptcha.execute( window.captchaPublicKey, { action: 'submit_correction' } ).then( function( token ) { \t\t\t\t\tvar opts={ \t\t\t\t\t\taction:    'firefly_sc_submit', \t\t\t\t\t\tname:      document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"name\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\t:     document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\tmessage:   document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"message\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\tpost_id:   firefly_post_id, \t\t\t\t\t\tcap_token: token \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\tvar inputs=[ 'name', '', 'message' ];  \t\t\t\t\tfor( var i=0; i <inputs.length; i++ ) if( ! ( opts[inputs[i]]=document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"' + inputs[i] + '\"]' ).value ) ) { \t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .required-message' ).style.display='block'; \t\t\t\t\t\treturn; \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction input[type=\"submit\"]' ).style.display='none'; \t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-submitting-img' ).src=firefly_loading_gif_url; \t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-submitting-img' ).style.display='inline-block';  \t\t\t\t\tconsole.log( 'ma subbing' );  \t\t\t\t\tif( firefly_post_id ) opts['post_id']=firefly_post_id;  \t\t\t\t\t\/* Send the data using post with element id name and name2*\/ \t\t\t\t\tvar posting=jQuery.post( firefly_ajax_url, opts );  \t\t\t\t\t\/* Alerts the results *\/ \t\t\t\t\tposting.done( function( response ) { \t\t\t\t\t\tif( response.success ) { \t\t\t\t\t\t\tconsole.log( response.data ); \t\t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-submitting-img' ).style.display='none'; \t\t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-confirm' ).style.display='block';  \t\t\t\t\t\t\tdataLayer.push( { 'event': 'submit-correction' } ); \t\t\t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\t\t}); \t\t\t\t}); \t\t\t} \t\t<\/script> \t     \t\t\t\t\t\t     \t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<p style=\"border: 1px solid #f5f5f5; padding: 16px;\">Advertise with The Western Journal and reach millions of highly engaged readers, while supporting our work. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/advertise-us\/?wj_source=article\">Advertise Today<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><script>console.log(\"ad slot (BA1)\")<\/script> \t\t<\/p>\n<div class=\"ff-fancy-header-container\"> \t\t\t \t<\/div>\n<\/section>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A government agency in the United Kingdom called the Information Commissioner\u2019s Office told businesses that putting up posters of suspected shoplifters may violate data protection laws, meaning they should be taken down. The ICO said putting up these images \u201cmay not be appropriate,\u201d adding that people can \u201conly personal information that\u2019s proportionate to achieve your<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2473566,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/UK-Police.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[33651],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2473565","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-western-journal"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/UK-Police.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2473565","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2473565"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2473565\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2473566"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2473565"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2473565"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2473565"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}