A Truro shopkeeper says he has carried out more than 50 citizen's arrests on thieves in two years. Martin Gaunt says he feels left with no choice other than to front up to offenders to protect his shop Happy Piranha in Pydar Street.

Mr Gaunt has installed 12 CCTV cameras across the three shops he has in the city centre.

Various videos show him confronting suspected shoplifters inside and outside his store, telling them he has the right to detain them until police arrive.

However, the 62-year-old says he doesn't have 'proper' support from the police - adding that the criminality is affecting the whole community in town.

"We are now at a stage where our streets are becoming dangerous because we are not tackling the problem at grassroots level,” he said.

"The shoplifting I want to prevent isn't because I am worried about losing a £20 teddy bear - the issue is how it affects the whole social fabric of the town and the community.

"In a town like Truro we will lose at least a million pounds a year - if not two million or more - in theft. And that is all going to stimulate crime."

Office of National Statistics (ONS) figures reveal there were 469,788 incidents of shoplifting in the year to June in England and Wales - a surge of 28 per cent on 2023. In Devon and Cornwall, the rise was as much as 37 per cent. Yet across the country, less than a fifth of recorded shoplifting offences resulted in a charge or summons in the year to last March.

Mr Gaunt uses his powers of arrest under Section 24A of the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984. His approach when conducting citizen's arrests is to stand in the way, maintain close contact without touching them and if necessary pull their bag.

If they attempt to escape, he then has to get in front of the criminals - and it is at that point that he can decide if he can hold them by the arm. But sometimes it can become violent - even though Mr Gaunt says they do everything they can to avoid it.

"We don't want to get hurt,” he said. “Does it cause me anxiety and stress? Yes, it does. Could I avoid it by not approaching the shoplifters? Yes, I could - but what will happen to community?"

Mr Gaunt added: "People aren't that happy - they don't believe you've got the right to touch them and detain them, and you have.

"I had one situation where I had a visit from a chief inspector because I had been complaining to our police commissioner. While he was here, we were robbed and we managed to get him to help us with that one.

"The person that we stopped had recently been released from prison and was carrying knuckledusters, large amounts of cash and prescription drugs unboxed."

Mr Gaunt said crime in his store has reached “epidemic” levels. He said shoplifters tended to be a mixture of people with drug and alcohol addictions.

In one instance, a young woman who was being run by a county lines dealer from the Midlands had to be stopped after trying to shoplift from the store.

He said: "An element from shoplifting is undertaken by people with addictions. What happens is they will steal products, walk it 10 minutes down the road and sell it to the market trader who will give them cash for the product. They take that money and then they go and buy their next hit with it.

"In town, that becomes like a cash machine for them. It then attracts all of the detritus that comes with drug dealing.”

One cuplrit in her early 20s was very upset upon being apprehended by Mr Gaunt. “When we asked why she was so upset, she explained she wasn't frightened of us - she was frightened of the county lines drugs dealer in the Midlands who was making her go into stores to steal product that he could then turn into cash. She was being abused physically by this organisation.

Since Mr Gaunt has been using citizen's arrests, repetitive thefts have dropped off “massively” - Mr Gaunt estimates they have gone down by 90 per cent. "The reason is, they realise we will try to detain them and get the police involved," he said.

However, Mr Gaunt said that when they do it there is 'no support' from the police. He said he had to write to the Home Office after his local inspector “refused” to acknowledge that citizen’s arrests were a viable and legal tool.

He claims he was sent a letter by the Home Office confirming that while civil arrests are for indictable offences, strictly speaking, there is an additional clause that brings low-level shoplifting into that category.

"Even relatively good people don't believe that stealing from shops is a proper crime, because nothing is done about it,” he said.

"People are afraid of speeding offences because there are cameras, fines, penalties on your licence. At the moment that seems to be nothing to deter people from shoplifting and because of that we have got an epidemic.

"If there is no liability, no consequence, people don't think it is a crime.”

Chief Constable Amanda Blakeman, the National Police Chiefs' Council (NPCC) lead for acquisitive crime, told the BBC the NPCC was 'committed' to cutting shoplifting and holding offenders to account.

She highlighted guidance in the Retail Crime Action Plan such as pursuing all “reasonable lines of enquiry and prioritising attendance in incidents where violence is involved or an offender has been detained”.

She also urged anyone to 'prioritise their own safety' and dial 999 if a crime is occurring.

Devon and Cornwall Police told the BBC it was committed to working with retailers and ensuring criminals faced justice, while deploying resources based on threat, risk and harm.

The Home Office said the government was pursuing 'strong action', including getting rid of the £200 threshold and specifically criminalising assaults on retail workers.

A spokesperson also said: “The NPCC recommends only trained security guards detain offenders and forces will prioritise attendance at these incidents.”