It's different here, I seen a guy get 18months prison time for stealing a mars bar and a can of red bull... He had an extensive criminal record which is why the sentence was quite harsh for the crime...
I did a brief stint of retail security in supermarkets a few years ago, the police didn't want to know when contacted about arresting shoplifters and it's apparently 10 times worse now
Its not quite at blue state US levels of absurdity, but I think it has to be something like £300 worth of goods stolen before the police even consider getting involved