Need to pop to the shop for a loaf of bread or a pint of milk? If you do, wearing a helmet and carrying a rolling pin would be wise. Retail theft, the act of stealing goods from a shop, is a major problem in the UK at the moment and nothing seems to be being done about it. Some say this is due to the pandemic, social media and the cost of living crisis. But, despite the circumstances, nobody should have the right to steal.
During 2022, English and Welsh police forces received 295,917 crime reports about shoplifting. This is an increase of 24% from the previous year. Also, there were 175,000 incidents reported from January to July alone this year, and the supermarket chain which is most often hit is the Co-op. There are almost 1000 incidents a day, and some stores across the country have reported several incidents of looting in a single day. Also, reports show that almost two-thirds (63%) of crime is driven by repeat and prolific offenders, with drug or alcohol addictions and local organised criminal gangs, among the main drivers. Unfortunately, youths are getting involved too; a gang was recently filmed outside a store, attempting to break in.
I witnessed a gang of youths at our local Co-op about to loot it. After leaving the shop, I turned around and noticed some kids wearing balaclavas with bags around their shoulders, approaching the shop. I did not get involved and merely walked back to my house. Later I heard the store had had to close, as some teenagers had looted it. This now happens on almost a daily basis at our local Co-op (other stores are available).
With the theft rates going through the roof, you would expect the police to be doing their job and getting involved. However, as expected, they are not and this is why the rates are increasing; the thieves know they can get away with it. In fact, the supermarket chain also warned that criminals have the “freedom to loot” after a Freedom of Information request by the Co-op revealed that police failed to respond to 71% of serious retail crime reports. A staggering 94.3% of crimes went unsolved in the last year according to recent figures.
Public trust in the police is below 50%; 49% have confidence in the police and 51% do not. This has dropped 6% from the previous year. In contrast, the constabularies still seem to be busy arresting people for non-crimes and thought crimes. Witness the recent overreaction by police to an alleged homophobic slur by a girl with autism in West Yorkshire and another arrest of a man for praying outside an abortion clinic. Shops such as the Co-op need to get wise and start phoning in transphobic and homophobic incidents (‘…and by the way they are also shoplifting’).
One overlooked aspect of this practice, is the affect it must be having on those who are inside the store; customers simply minding their own business while shopping, and employees who are having to face looting as part of the territory. Recently, the Co-op revealed that front-line store workers had seen physical assaults increase year-on-year by almost one-third, with anti-social behaviour and verbal abuse rising by a fifth. Shop-workers should not have to face this behaviour, particularly on minimum wage, and those engaging in criminal activity should not be allowed to get away with it. If businesses continue to see their profits walk out the door, they will have to increase their prices; meaning, as usual, that the customer will end up footing the bill.
Jack Watson has a Substack newsletter called Ten Foot Tigers about being a Hull City fan. You can subscribe here.
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