Merseyside Police delete post about stolen baguette after backlash from poverty charity

A poverty charity has criticised police for posting about the theft of a "delicious warm chicken baguette" from a Greggs in Liverpool.

Charity Big Help wrote a letter to the Merseyside Police Commissioner Emily Spurrell, criticising the decision to publish the post and accused them of "trivialising poverty".

The since-deleted post, from 20 November 2023, said: "Theft of any nature will not be tolerated in our City.

"We have this morning arrested a male on suspicion of the theft of this delicious warm chicken baguette after a store made us aware that the suspect had just left without paying for it."

In the letter, CEO of Big Help, Peter Mitchell, said: "We believe it is crucial to bring attention to the insensitivity of such messages.

"To make a spectacle of somebody's desperation has the potential to contribute to a highly dismissive and critical public perception of those experiencing poverty."

Peter Mitchell then went on to compare the treatment of the arrested individual to that seen in 19th century novel Les Misérables, in which Jean Valjean is imprisoned for stealing a loaf of bread.

He said: "That person won't be jailed for five years, as we know is the case in the novel, but the permanence of social media not only opens that single person to be subjected to widespread ridicule but extends its cruelty too the thousands who are suffering under the same hunger and desperation."

The charity also urges Merseyside Police to educate its social media team on how to talk sensitively about topics such as poverty and hunger.

Peter Mitchell said: "It is not to be disputed that that issues such as poverty and hunger should not be disputed for the sake of social media humour."

In response to the letter, PCC Spurrell said: “I’m aware of a post on a Merseyside Police X account in relation to the theft of a food item.

“I have made enquiries with Merseyside Police and while the message was intended to raise awareness of the impact of shoplifting and retail crime, it is recognised that the cost-of-living crisis has had a huge impact on our communities and no one in our society should need to steal in order to eat.

“While stealing can never be condoned, the theft of food is a sign an individual is in desperate need and it’s vital we do everything to support the most vulnerable and treat them with empathy."

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