I used to think shoplifting was mostly a nuisance, the sort of low-level bother that rarely escalates beyond an awkward confrontation. Then came the details of what happened in an Enfield store last July, and that comfortable assumption crumbled.
Tedros Menges, 22, of Holbrook Close in Enfield, began by trying to steal a pair of jogging bottoms. Spotted by staff, he fled, only to return for the mobile phone he had left behind. When they refused to hand it over, he came back armed with a saw. What followed was an attack on a security guard, the strangulation of a store manager, and threats to other workers. Two people were injured. A panic alarm was triggered.
Officers from the Metropolitan Police arrived within two minutes. They pursued Menges into a nearby car park and arrested him the same day. He was charged the following morning. By January this year he had stood trial at Wood Green Crown Court and been convicted of grievous bodily harm, non-fatal strangulation, attempted robbery, and threatening a person with an offensive weapon.
On 17 July he received a ten-year custodial sentence. He must serve at least two thirds before release, followed by a three-year extended licence. The court clearly viewed him as a continuing danger.
The violence and abuse directed at shopworkers has a real impact on victims, businesses and the wider community. Staff should never have to fear for their safety while doing their jobs. This dangerous attack left two people injured and the sentence today reflects the severity of the offending. Those who think they can intimidate or harm retail workers should be under no illusion – we will pursue offenders relentlessly, take weapons off the streets and bring those responsible before the courts.
Chief Superintendent Anna McCartney spoke with the quiet authority of someone who has seen too many such cases. Her words cut through the usual institutional language. They remind us that retail staff are not collateral damage in someone else's bad day.
What makes this episode instructive is the speed of the response. Two minutes from alarm to officers on scene is not luck; it is the product of targeted policing that treats violence against shopworkers as the serious crime it is. Last year shoplifting offences across London fell by 3.7 percent, around 3,200 fewer incidents than the year before. The Met solved nearly double the number of shoplifting cases and made 50 percent more arrests. The numbers are modest but they point in the right direction.
