Waitrose and John Lewis are offering free coffees for police officers who visit its stores in a bid to crack down on shoplifting and violence against staff.
In a letter to the Police Federation union, John Lewis Partnership said officers can use the subsidised staff canteen “as part of efforts to strengthen relationships and tackle retail crime”, The Times reports.
The retail giant has dubbed the initiative “thanks a latte”.
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Officers, including police community support officers, can get free hot drinks at Waitrose coffee machines if they bring a reusable cup.
In John Lewis stores, they can use the staff’s subsidised canteen, where hot meals cost between £2 and £3, and use quiet staff seating areas and bathrooms.
Assaults on employees in Waitrose shops have roughly doubled since 2020, according to the British Retail Consortium.
The premium supermarket’s owner said it was seeing “rising numbers of shoplifting offences – often by organised gangs as well anti-social behaviour”.
John Lewis had already increased the number of guards and “security-trained” staff, improved CCTV and rolled out body-worn cameras to staff who wish to wear one.
The retailer’s head of security Nicki Juniper said that the rise in thefts is not a result of people trying to put food on the table in the cost of living crisis, claiming the retail giant is targeted by “professional shoplifters stealing for greed”.
She added: “Just having a police car parked outside can make people think twice about shoplifting from our branches.”
Meanwhile, shoplifting has reached record levels at Co-op stores, with an average of nearly 1,000 incidents each day in the first half of this year – an increase of 35%.
Earlier this month Co-op Food boss Matt Hood hit back at supermarket profiteering accusations, claiming it is being used to justify the rocketing surge of shoplifting.
The chief executive told The Telegraph he was “disappointed” people were defending shoplifters after MPs accused the grocers of inflating prices.
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