THEFT COSTS RETAILERS £1bn
Listed under: News
Published: Thursday, January 28, 2010
Crime against retailers has rocketed during the recession, increasing more than 30% in 2009
Stealing by customers accounts for the biggest share of all retail crime, both by the number of incidents (94%) and by monetary value (42%), according to the BRC's Retail Crime Survey.
The report also estimates that almost one third of all customer thefts go unreported.
“The increase in retail crime can't be justified as a move from ‘greed' to ‘need'. Whatever the motivation, shoplifting is never victimless or acceptable,” said Stephen Robertson, BRC director-general.
“We need tougher sentencing to deter thieves and more consistent use of fixed penalty notices between police forces,” he added.
A Derbyshire independent experienced the problem first hand recently.
“Someone threw a brick through our front window on New Year's Eve and stole several bottles of Champagne. It's been a massive inconvenience and the window is still boarded up while we wait for it to be fixed,” said Sarah Mitchell, co-owner of Praze Fine Foods in Glossop.
However, Ms Mitchell feels they still have loyal locals inside.
“People are happier to take from a faceless corporation than a small store. The incident in December was a one-off. Stealing isn't something that has been a problem in the past as most of our customers are loyal regulars,” she explained.
“Generally, the kind of people that shop in our store aren't the type to shoplift, and I think the same could be said for the majority of speciality food shops,” she concluded.
The report also estimates that almost one third of all customer thefts go unreported.
“The increase in retail crime can't be justified as a move from ‘greed' to ‘need'. Whatever the motivation, shoplifting is never victimless or acceptable,” said Stephen Robertson, BRC director-general.
“We need tougher sentencing to deter thieves and more consistent use of fixed penalty notices between police forces,” he added.
A Derbyshire independent experienced the problem first hand recently.
“Someone threw a brick through our front window on New Year's Eve and stole several bottles of Champagne. It's been a massive inconvenience and the window is still boarded up while we wait for it to be fixed,” said Sarah Mitchell, co-owner of Praze Fine Foods in Glossop.
However, Ms Mitchell feels they still have loyal locals inside.
“People are happier to take from a faceless corporation than a small store. The incident in December was a one-off. Stealing isn't something that has been a problem in the past as most of our customers are loyal regulars,” she explained.
“Generally, the kind of people that shop in our store aren't the type to shoplift, and I think the same could be said for the majority of speciality food shops,” she concluded.
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There are currently 1 comments - Have Your Say Today
We are a small sweet shop in Nottinghamshire. When we were targeted by a gang of shoplifters (aged 11 and 12), the local police were fantastic. The recession certainly does seem to have had an effect . However, most of the stock stolen from us was re-sold at the local secondary school for a profit. Perhaps a case of ‘Young Enterprise’ gone mad?