A woman who was beaten up after confronting a gang of thieves said she was "failed by every system."
Emilie Martin was shopping at a Tesco in Hackney when she spotted a group of teenagers stealing sandwiches.
However, after she reported the incident to the store manager, she was surrounded by the teenagers, sprayed with a drink, and when she threatened to call the police, she was punched in the face.
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According to the manager, Martin’s attackers raided the east London store on a near-daily basis.
Now, 10 years after her assault, Martin said she felt like she had to speak up after seeing comments by the Police and Crime Commissioner for Thames Valley, Matthew Barber, who claimed the public should help in tackling shoplifters.
Ms Martin told The Telegraph she has been left with ongoing health issues and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and was constantly re-traumatised during her four-year fight to receive a small amount of compensation, saying she now considered Hackney and Tesco " a no-go for me."
Her attackers have never been caught, with Martin saying the Metropolitan Police showed "little concern" for her case.
Tesco in Hackney Central
|GOOGLE MAPS
To make things worse, Tesco told her CCTV footage of the incident had been "lost in a technical error".
Ms Martin, now 39, said: "The punch left me with permanent scarring, breathing problems, and the need for two operations on my eye and nose, plus another still pending after 18 months on an NHS waiting list.
"The physical injuries were only the start.
"I was diagnosed with PTSD, yet NHS mental health support has been a mirage: goalposts moved, waiting lists closed, and promises broken."
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Commissioner Matthew Barber
|PCC
Her claim for compensation from the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority (CICA) was initially rejected, meaning she had to go through two tribunal hearings.
In June 2021, she was finally awarded £3,480, six years after her initial assault.
She said: "Ten years on, I have been failed by every system meant to protect and support victims: the police, the justice system, the CICA, the NHS, and Tesco.
"On the night of the attack, I wasn’t even offered an ice pack, let alone an apology."
Now, Ms Martin has written an open letter to Mr Barber, asking what he wanted to "achieve" with telling people to stand up to petty criminals.
She said: "When you tell the public to intervene in shoplifting, I have to ask: do you understand what you are asking of us? Do you believe that, had you experienced what I have, you would still stand by those remarks?
"Where is the protection, the justice, the support for those who pay the price for acting as you suggest?
"I am not writing this to say ‘don’t stand up to crime.’ I am writing to say: if you truly want the public to take that risk, then you must first guarantee that the police, the justice system, and victim support structures will not abandon them."
Mr Barber said: "It highlights why we need to do everything we can to reduce crime, particularly crimes such as shoplifting, which are not victimless as people sometimes think.
"Sadly, in Emilie’s case, it appears that people just looked the other way and didn’t try to help. A situation that I don’t think anyone would want to be in.”
"It is for the police to cut crime and catch criminals, but it is for all of us to make sure we don’t live in a society where people just look the other way and don’t help those in distress."
A Met Police spokesman said: "This was investigated thoroughly at the time and regrettably, we were unable to identify a suspect.
"The Met Police is working to support shopkeepers and tackle theft in the capital, this year solving 163 per cent more shoplifting cases than in the same period last year.
"If you see criminal activity taking place, please call the police on 101 or 999 in an emergency."
Scotland Yard | PAA Government spokesman said: "We understand the devastating impact of shop theft on retailers.
"Since Ms Martin applied for compensation in 2017, we have improved how victims apply for compensation with a better online system and improved training for staff so the process is more straightforward.
"Our landmark Crime and Policing Bill will also end the effective immunity for theft of goods under £200 and bring in a specific offence for assaulting retail workers, while the Tackling Retail Crime Together Strategy is gathering data to better target and respond to perpetrators."
GB News has contacted Tesco for a comment.