A teenager had to close her mother ’ s shop to detain a shoplifter for three hours until police arrived – only for them to let her off with a caution . Katie Cope , 17 , said she feared being assaulted by the agitated woman after police repeatedly refused to give her an estimated time for their arrival . She had to close the shop and put down the electronic shutter after the thief became abusive towards other customers and kept trying to leave . Let down : Store owner Eve Cope with assistant , Sol , who helped Katie to detain the shoplifter . When police finally got to the vintage clothing store , they said the stolen knickers , which had been reduced to £1 , were not worth enough to prosecute . Yesterday , Katie and her mother Eve Cope , 60 , told of their fury at the police ’ s response and accused officers of giving a ‘ green light ’ to shoplifters by merely cautioning the 66-year-old culprit . Mrs Cope , who has owned the Baklash store in Nottingham city centre for 33 years , was away when the thief struck last Thursday . She said : ‘ I was really scared for the safety of my daughter . I do feel like the police let the shoplifter off . ‘ This must be the fifth time I have had to deal with a shoplifter in the last few years – on one occasion I was even assaulted and hit my head on the pavement outside the shop when I tried to stop a thief . ‘ The police asked me to drop the case against the girl responsible because she offered to apologise and pay for the shirt she stole. ’ Katie said : ‘ It is a ridiculous situation . I could have been in trouble if the woman had reacted aggressively to being held in the shop . ‘ I ’ m really disappointed with the police . Letting this woman off just gives a green light to shoplifters. ’ A male shop assistant called Sol was working with Katie when she spotted the shoplifter leaving with a pair of knickers in her handbag . Katie stopped the thief outside the shop at 2.50pm and led her back inside while Sol dialled 101 – the police non-emergency number . Katie said : ‘ I was not going to let her go . She didn ’ t apologise and when police eventually got here she lied about her age and her name three times. ’ Officers arrived within nine minutes after Mrs Cope , pictured outside her store , made a formal complaint . When Katie was still waiting for a police response three hours later , Mrs Cope rang to make a formal complaint and officers arrived nine minutes later , at 6.10pm . Mrs Cope said : ‘ They told us that because the underwear was only priced at £1 , they would not prosecute . ‘ I told them it wasn ’ t just the value of the knickers at play here , but the fact we had lost three hours of trade by having to close . They just told me I would have to pursue a civil case for damages against the thief if I wanted to take it further. ’ Local councillor Michael Edwards called the incident ‘ concerning ’ . A spokesman for Nottinghamshire Police said : ‘ We aim to provide the best possible service to anyone who calls to report a crime , but in periods of high demand response times can be affected. ’ Nottinghamshire Police and Crime Commissioner Paddy Tipping said : ‘ I am sorry that the business in question had a problem . Shoplifting is not as much of a problem as it used to be. ’ However , figures from crime data analysts , UK Crime Stats , showed that in Nottingham there was a rise in shoplifting offences from 288 last February to 324 this February .
Katie Cope , 17 , was a shoplifter in her mother 's vintage clothing store . Police took three hours to arrive at the store in hull shopping centre . Thief received caution by police for attempting to steal the £ 1 million . Officers told store owners the knickers not worth enough to buy .