A have-a-go-hero shopkeeper who caught a thief in his store was told by police to release him – or face prosecution himself.
Jarnail Singh Atwal, 67, captured the man he suspected of stealing a packet of washing machine tablets from his business on February 17.
He quickly chased down, searched and apprehended the suspect before locking him inside Broomhall Off Licence in Chaddesden, Derby.
But the brave shop owner was left stunned when he called police and was told he needed to release the suspected criminal or face being arrested.
Mr Atwal was told his actions posed a threat to the other members of the public who were also trapped inside at the time.
The grandfather-of-four said he was left ‘disgusted’ by the police’s response after he was forced to release the man.
Jarnail Singh Atwal, 67, captured the man he suspected of stealing a packet of washing machine tablets from his business on February 17
CCTV showed the man reaching up for the washing machine tablets inside Broomhall Off Licence, Derby
CCTV cameras captured the entire incident unfold but so far nobody has been arrested in connection with the attempted theft.
Mr Atwal, who has owned the shop for 30 years, said: ‘We have a CCTV system in the shop, if any strangers walk in we keep eye on it.
‘I don’t know what his idea was, maybe he was trying to see if he could get away with it once so he could come back and try it again.
‘He walked out and I followed him and grabbed his bag, pulled him back to the shop and phoned the police.
‘The police said that I had to let him go or they’d prosecute. The police were bone idle, they didn’t want to do any work. They didn’t even turn up for it.
‘The shoplifter said “let me go or I’ll burn the shop down”. There were a few loyal customers in the shop at the time.
Mr Atwal said the man tried to leave his shop without paying for the Aeriel Allin1 pods
Mr Atwal said he locked the man inside the store and called the police. The man threatened to burn down the shop prompting police to tell the store owner to let the man go
Police said they were trying to identify the suspect from the CCTV system in the store
‘They weren’t scared and were even trying to help me.
‘The police have asked me to send over the images and video I’ve got but I haven’t heard anything since.
‘They let him get away. It sends a message to thieves that anyone can walk in and take what they like without fear of being caught by police.
‘It’s disgusting, is there any chance of finding him now? I don’t know who he was but it was recorded so there is evidence.’
Derbyshire Police said they advised Mr Atwal to release the suspect due to the threat he posed to other customers in the store.
But Mr Atwal branded the police’s response a ‘load of rubbish’ and said they even failed to turn up to the scene – despite the threats to burn his shop down.
He added: ‘The police’s statement is a lot of rubbish. No one turned up in the end.
‘My wife was in the shop at the time. She saw him steal the stuff, I was in the back. She told me what happened and I followed him.
Mr Atwal said he was far from impressed with the police response. He said they even threatened him with prosecution
Mr Atwal has run his store in Derby for the past 30 years
‘They said let him go or we’ll prosecute you. They even phoned me five minutes later and asked ‘is he gone?’
‘There’s no chance of finding him now, they could have prosecuted him straight away.’
A spokesperson for Derbyshire Police said: ‘Officers were called to reports that a man had been caught shoplifting at a store in Wiltshire Road, Chaddesden, on 17 February.
‘The caller explained that the man accused of shoplifting from the store had been locked in the shop – along with a number of other customers.
‘The caller explained that the man was allegedly making threats to harm those inside by setting fire to the shop.
‘Due to those threats – and the risk that was posed to the other customers – the caller was told that the door should be unlocked.
‘Since the incident officers have spoken with the owner of the shop in order to request CCTV in order to try and identify the man involved.’
