Thinus Keeve, M&S retail director, has written an open letter demanding action after teenage mobs swarmed London high streets in TikTok-organised meetups
An M&S executive has hit out at ‘brazen, organised and aggressive’ criminals following a surge in anti-social behaviour across London.
Thinus Keeve, the Retail Director, has urged the Government and City Hall to take action after large groups of teenagers, allegedly spurred on by social media and Tik Tok trends, descended on high streets throughout the capital.
In an open letter published on the company’s website, Mr Keeve stated: “I keep hearing crime is falling, especially in London – something none of us believe and very few people working in retail would see. In fact, we see the absolute opposite in our High Streets and in our stores, where our colleagues are on the receiving end of abuse and violence in their workplace every day.
“It is becoming more brazen, more organised and more aggressive.”
He went on to say: “Without a government seriously cracking down on crime and a Mayor that prioritises effective policing we are powerless.”
“We need a stronger, faster and more consistent police response, using tools that already exist to target repeat offenders and crime hotspots.
“And we need far greater transparency on crime so the true scale and impact is understood and can be used to target resources.”
Mr Keeve revealed that M&S chief executive Stuart Machin has penned a letter to the Home Secretary, while he himself has written to London Mayor Sir Sadiq Khan regarding the issue.
This follows incidents where teenagers organised meet-ups in Clapham, south London, over the past week, using social media apps like TikTok and Snapchat to arrange “link-ups” before swarming into shops.
The Metropolitan Police reported that around 100 officers responded to antisocial behaviour on Tuesday, with five individuals assaulted, including four police officers.
On Thursday, Greater Manchester Police (GMP) announced a 48-hour dispersal order covering Rochdale town centre, effective until Saturday at 11.30am.
Reports emerged of groups of young people harassing staff and causing criminal damage at a business and in the town centre on Wednesday.
Inspector Meena Yasin, from GMP’s Rochdale district, stated: “We have implemented this order to provide further powers for officers in the area to robustly deal with anti-social behaviour, and to protect people and businesses.
In a statement titled ‘Retail crime chips away confidence in our High Streets’, Mr Keeve said: “It is becoming more brazen, more organised and more aggressive.”
“It’s a clear ask: support our police. Help them show up in our communities when and where we need them.”
“Give them the resources they need to tackle crime effectively and ensure they work with retailers to consistently use the tools we’ve developed to share data and help them actively target offenders.”
“This is not complicated. The capability exists. The data exists. The investment has been made. Time is up, we need to deal with this now.”
He expressed his concern over “the hurt” experienced by shop workers and customers following attacks.
“Too many are dealing with theft, intimidation and verbal and physical abuse as part of their daily reality,” he penned in the Daily Telegraph.
“It impacts well-being, and it drives people out of the industry.”
“When stores become unsafe, we’re not just failing retail workers, we’re failing the next generation of the workforce.”
Sir Sadiq has slammed the scenes involving teenagers in Clapham as “utterly unacceptable”, stating that further arrests are likely within days as officers scrutinise CCTV and bodyworn video footage.
He cautioned that “the culprits will face the full force of the law” and revealed that police are collaborating with social media companies to combat “viral online content which promotes violence and theft”.
Sir Sadiq stated: “Not only did they spread fear in the local community, but assaulting and intimidating hard-working retail staff and police officers are serious offences.”
The Met are adopting “a zero-tolerance approach to any form of criminality”, bolstering officer numbers in hotspot areas and potentially implementing dispersal orders.