Sainsbury’s staff decided to take matters into their hands at a branch in Tower Hamlets, London this weekend, dragging a suspected shoplifter into a back room and giving him a beatdown as he screamed for mercy,

One staff member can be heard shouting ‘stay the f*** down’ as three of four Sainsbury’s employees pull the man into a storeroom by the collar of his jacket:

This is the moment Sainsbury’s staff drag a suspected shoplifter into a backroom and repeatedly kick him as he lies on the floor.

A shocked customer filmed the incident, which happened at a branch in Mile End Road, Tower Hamlets, London.https://t.co/zi6VjiS2r2 pic.twitter.com/tei9Yl7QnM

— London & UK Street News (@CrimeLdn) May 18, 2024

Not ideal really, but I guess retail workers like those at Sainsbury’s know that police don’t really do much about shoplifting and petty crime anymore, so I wouldn’t be surprised if we start to see more of this sort of thing happening around the UK. It does seem like a one way ticket to either getting a criminal record or assaulted yourself too though, so again, not an ideal situation for anyone involved.

A witness to the incident said:

‘The shoplifter was quite unclean but he wasn’t violent to the shop workers.

He was committing a crime (but) did not deserve to be punched and kicked repeatedly whilst on the floor. He could easily have simply been restrained and detained.

‘I suspect they stopped once they saw me recording. My worry was that the shoplifter was detained for such a long time he would continue to have been abused.’

A Sainsbury’s spokesperson said they were ‘urgently investigating’ the incident. Meanwhile, the Office for National Statistics recently revealed that shoplifting has risen by 25% in the 12 months up to June. Wonder if footage like this will serve as a deterrent? Yeah, doubt it.

For the Lidl security guard who was spared jail for breaking a shoplifter’s leg, click HERE.