Britons 'have a licence to steal': Ex-shoplifter who used to pinch £14k worth of items a week says court sentences are not harsh enough - as figures show store theft offences at record high

An ex-shoplifter who claims to have stolen £3million worth of goods says thieves now 'have a licence to steal' as thefts from stores hit a record high.

Recovered heroin addict Cullan Mais, 32, was jailed 10 times for shoplifting, serving a total of three years.

Mr Mais – who says he stole £2,000 of items at the height of his offending before turning his life around– insists punishments are not harsh enough and the only way to tackle Britain's shoplifting epidemic is to impose longer sentences for organised criminal gangs.

The Cardiff-based podcaster, who works for a charity which helps people with drug addictions, said: 'People now have total licence to steal.

'If it's on an organised level, the sentences need to be harsher, because at the end of the day these people know penalties are weak.

'When you go to an off licence, everything is behind Perspex - it's a bit dystopian, but it works.

'Big supermarkets should lock up all meat, booze, aftershave, and then just have a guy there whose job it is to unlock the goods for shoppers.'

He also pointed to some of the desperate measures already being deployed in stores, such as displaying empty boxes on shelves for higher value goods.

Mr Mais' comments come as shoplifting soared to its highest level since records began in 2003 - with 430,104 offences recorded by police last year.

The shocking figure has swelled by more than a third, up from 315,040 offences recorded in the previous 12 months.

 Retail bosses have accused the government of allowing shoplifting to become effectively decriminalised, with many forces failing to attend the majority of reports or not gathering any evidence when they do.

Under 40 per cent of shoplifting reports were attended by the Met between April 2022 and April 2023, recent figures revealed. 

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said the spike in shoplifting was 'clearly unacceptable' and Crime and Policing minister Chris Philp acknowledged there 'is always more to do' and pointed to the government's latest clamp down through the Criminal Justice Bill. 

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer has pledged to scrap the £200 shoplifting threshold – which allows thefts of goods below this value to be dealt with by post - and has backed a Mail campaign to crack down on assaults of shop staff. 

Last year, the Mail launched a campaign calling for the police, Crown Prosecution Service and courts to be tougher on such offenders and for a change in the law to make abuse or violence towards shop workers a specific offence. 

The Government last month confirmed the law will be amended on the latter. 

Mr Mais told how he was able to steal goods with ease because the sentences if he got caught did not serve as a deterrent. 

'I used to weigh it up and think I'd rather go out and make thousands a day nicking stuff rather than risking my life trying to sell drugs - and getting a much longer sentence if I was caught,' he said. 

Mr Mais said he began taking heroin when he was 18, but by 22 was struggling to fund his addiction. 

It was when he got a car in 2010 that he says he turned to shoplifting, as it 'made it so easy' to 'blag the stuff and make a getaway'. 

He began by targeting local shops and stealing clothes before moving on to supermarkets where he stole food and alcohol. 

Mr Mais said at the height of his criminality, he was making £2k-a-day, largely from stealing and re-selling alcohol.

In August 2020, aged 28, after being caught shoplifting for the 12th time he was rushed to hospital with pneumonia and sepsis caused by his constant drug abuse.

He made a bargain with himself that if he survived, he would never take drugs again.

Mr Mais marked his 29th birthday in hospital and was discharged where he was confined to bed rest for a month and went on to make a full recovery.

Since then, he has turned his life around. He is clean and has a girlfriend, and works as a mentor for the charity Kaleidoscope supporting people suffering with drug addictions.

He also has a weekly podcast, the Central Club, where he talks about his former struggles and journey to change his life for the better.