Fiona Malone, who runs a Post Office in Tenby, Pembrokeshire, also told the BBC she had to wait five months for a shoplifter who stole from her store to face sentencing – despite catching the thief red-handed.
The shopkeeper confronted Natalie Lintern after security cameras captured her stealing pre-mixed vodka cans, sandwiches and cake from the store in August last year.
Mrs Malone chased the 36-year-old down the street and got the stolen items back before reporting it to the police.
“The whole criminal justice system is too slow, it’s bureaucratic,” she told the BBC.
“We need to deal with these people and deal with them quickly and think about alternative punishments to stop them doing it in the first place.”
In January, Lintern, from Pembroke, Pembrokeshire, was given a 12-month community order after pleading guilty to stealing from Tenby Post Office and four other stores between April and September 2024.
But the sentence did not stop her from shoplifting again.
Six months later, she was back in court again where she admitted stealing from a service station in May.
She was given six weeks in jail, suspended for 12 months.
