Unions have told security staff not to bother stopping shoplifters over "health and safety" fears.
Instead, members have been urged to "watch, report and be an expert witness for police" - but to let the thieves go ahead amid the surge in shoplifting cases.
The Security Industry Federation (SIF) told members to avoid putting "yourselves in harm's way for those who may not support you afterwards".
The Federation's General Secretary Daniel Garnham admitted the instruction contradicted the "instincts and principles of many good security professionals".
Still, he added: "Someone else's stock is not more important than your safety, your career or your licence."
"Security workers cannot continue carrying all of the personal and professional risk while others avoid responsibility."
Meanwhile, retail union Usdaw has instructed members to "keep themselves safe" while urging them not to step in against "potentially dangerous criminals".
Just yesterday, speaking at the union's conference, Sir Keir Starmer declared: "It's disgraceful that people just working in their shop have to take abuse from customers.
Sir Keir Starmer spoke at retail union Usdaw's annual conference
|PA
"It's disgraceful that people feel sick to the stomach thinking about how they’re going to get through the day and it’s disgraceful that people can have their lives and livelihoods ruined by persistent shop theft."
The surge in shoplifting has also fuelled increased mistrust across the sector, with shops introducing measures to mitigate the growing issue.
Greggs, for instance, has started to remove self-service fridges from stores in a crackdown on soaring shoplifting and staff attacks.
Meanwhile, former employees at major supermarkets, including Waitrose and Morrisons, have lost their jobs after intervening while criminals steal from their stores.
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Bosses have instructed workers to 'keep themselves safe'
|GETTY
But the latest instruction from the unions has sparked backlash from the Tories and Reform UK.
Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp described the stance as "the epitome of what Labour's breakdown in law and order looks like".
Since Labour took office, he said, shoplifting has risen by eight per cent.
"A security worker was murdered in a shopping centre in February; guards are being told their employer won’t back them if they intervene, so they don’t intervene; and Starmer is abolishing prison sentences under a year, which means virtually no shoplifter will ever go to prison," the Conservative MP said.
Meanwhile, Reform's home affairs spokesman Zia Yusuf said that "shoplifting has become a form of shopping" in Labour's Britain.
"Protecting shop workers from violence and intimidation means getting serious on crime. Police must attend every reported theft, and repeat offenders should face real custodial sentences," he added.
Shoplifting across London, in particular, has reached new heights, soaring by almost a fifth within a year.
In the year to September 2025, the Metropolitan Police recorded 93,849 cases, jumping up 19 per cent from 78,458 the year before.