This is good news but I feel it is just the tip of the iceberg. Staff in supermarkets have to deal with shoplifters on a daily basis and in some cases, several times a day.
A police statement said: “Targeting shoplifters is a priority for the district, and we will be relentlessly pursuing those that are violent to staff or are repeat offenders………”
My granddaughter used to work in a local Tesco store where shoplifters were brazen, would frequently front staff, telling them what they were taking and that they, the staff, could do nothing about it. Staff are told not to confront shoplifters due to the danger of assault.
Shoplifters are scum, the lowest of the low. They are a blight on modern society.
Regardless of the UK economy, lack of a job or home, there is no excuse for subjecting shop staff to abuse, threats of, and actual physical violence.
WrAnTz 
Shoplifting isn’t good, some steal because they are hungry but most generally do it because they can no other reason
Yes, some do steal because they are hungry. Many steal to sell on the stolen items to get money to buy drugs. And as you say, some steal because they can. Right now, in the uk, it just seems that there is a bit of an epidemic. The country is turning feral.