by A retired police officer has been fined for chasing a shopper in his car while the offender escaped prosecution.
Norman Brennan, 64, said the criminal justice system was “completely broken” after a thief who followed him for nearly two miles before being caught was let off, receiving a fine from the local council for a traffic offence.
Mr Brennan confronted the shopper outside Sainsbury’s in Twickenham Green, south-west London, before the offender turned and fled.
He followed him in his car before helping to arrest him and followed the man’s steps where he found nine expensive stolen bottles of wine hidden behind a block of flats in a rucksack.
A shopper was not fined or warned
The shopkeeper was not fined or cautioned after the Sainsbury’s manager decided not to press charges but Mr Brennan was later fined £130 by the London Borough of Richmond Upon Thames for driving the wrong way down a one-way street during the pursuit. .
The amount has since been raised to £195 after Mr Brennan paid the fine.
In a letter rejecting his appeal against the decision, the council said that although they understood he had allegedly shoplifted “you had no legal authority to enter this road”.
Mr Brennan told the Mail on Sunday he was doing less than 5mph at the time and was talking to a hands-free 999 operator, describing the incident as a “farcical incident”.
‘Absolute farce’
“It’s a complete waste of my time and a complete farce,” he told the newspaper.
“The only person being punished here is me. This was a rare case where the police and Sainsbury’s were handed everything on a plate – all the evidence and the culprit himself – but still the man walked free.
“Big supermarkets need to get serious about tackling shopping by declaring they will take action. The police are in the middle of this, not really interfering because they know that the offenders are rarely allowed to go to court often with a conditional discharge or a small fine or a community order.
“The Government has promised a crackdown on this crime, which the police cannot deliver. It’s all a big mess. The criminal justice system is broken, it’s not fit for purpose.”
He said the incident undermined police minister Chris Philp’s appeal to the public to help tackle shoplifters by making citizen’s arrests when they see thieves stealing.
Discontinued in 2009
Mr Brennan, a former detective constable of the British Transport Police, retired in 2009 after 32 years’ service.
He is the founder of the Defend the Defendants campaign for better police protection, which successfully campaigned for police to carry side-handled batteries, stab-resistant vests and CS spray.
Describing the incident in October, Mr Brennan said he was getting a coffee in his car when he heard a shout and saw a man in his 30s running past with a rucksack.
“I know the staff at Sainsbury’s and I saw one of them chasing him,” he said. “I followed in my car, drove in front of him, jumped out and tackled him, but he turned and ran away behind a block of flats.”
Can’t chase on foot
Mr Brennan, who has caught 29 shoplifters since retiring, said he was unable to chase him because of his arthritic knees and waited for the thief to return before discreetly getting into his car to industrial estate.
While doing this he spoke to a 999 operator who promised support and if he had not turned onto the one way street he would have lost sight of the offender.
“I’m a senior police driver and I was very careful when I was driving – or rather crawling – down this road.
“I found the response from Richmond staggering – cold and wasted and no common sense. Certainly they could exercise discretion.”
He said when the police arrived he told them where the shopkeeper was hiding and he was arrested. Mr Brennan then recovered the back pack with most of the wine broken and when he went to the store the manager was interviewed by the police but no action was taken.
‘Steal whatever you want’
“The message seems to be that in today’s Britain you can go into a supermarket and steal anything you want, knowing you won’t be punished even if you’re caught by the police,” said the Mr. Brennan.
“I spend hours appealing against this stupid fine – which is now up to £195.”
A Metropolitan Police spokesman said: “Officers responded to a report of shoplifting after a man stole several bottles of wine from a shop in Twickenham. He was detained nearby. The officers spoke to the store staff who did not wish to pursue the matter any further.”
A spokesperson for Sainsbury’s said: “The safety of our colleagues and customers is our highest priority. We are in contact with the police about this incident.”
