Home Office proposals to put holding cells in town and shopping centres must not shift the responsibility for arresting and detaining criminals from the police to shop staff, retail chiefs warned.
“Retailers should not be used as a babysitting service for criminals,” said the British Retail Consortium (BRC), in response to a Home Office consultation paper on the Review of the Police and Criminal Evidence Act (PACE) 1984.
This includes the proposals for “short-term holding facilities” (STHF) to detain people for offences such as shoplifting.
The idea is that the cells would be supervised by a police officer and suspects would be held for identification and processing only for no longer than four hours.
Processing will, controversially, include fingerprinting, footwear impressions, photographing and collection of DNA.
Although the BRC admitted the move could help in the fight against rising levels of retail crime, it feared it could be abused.
BRC director-general Kev­­­­in Hawkins said: “That this measure is even being considered indicates how significant the problem of retail crime has become.
“Some 10 million shoplifting offences are committed each year, often leaving staff exposed to potential violence and costing retailers more than £2 billion annually.
“The proposal has merit, particularly if it were to achieve its aim of freeing up more officers for front-line duties.
“However, cells in retail centres should never be used for the long-term detention of criminals and shop staff should never be called upon to fulfil the role of the police.”
The BRC said it would consult its members before responding in full to the Home Office paper.
The consultation document is at www.homeoffice.gov.uk/documents/cons-2007-pace-review.
The closing date for responses is May 31.