Is shoplifting really as endemic as the media suggests?
Posted by craigus17@reddit | AskUK | View on Reddit | 341 comments
I keep hearing stories of people brazenly just taking whatever they like from small shops knowing that they won’t be stopped or challenged.
And other stories of organised gangs ‘shoplifting to order’
But I don’t know anyone who has experienced or witnessed this personally. Are we really experiencing a shoplifting crime wave or is it media sensationalism?
Exact-Reference3966@reddit
A relative works in Waitrose and sees it all the time. One of the worst incidents was when 2 women came in and loaded up their trollies and just brazenly walked out. Security followed and saw they had a van piled high with stuff from all different supermarkets. Police were called but refused to attend. Apparently one of the women even came back into the shop saying she had lost an earring during the incident! They clearly know they can get away with it!
GetCapeFly@reddit
Why do the police refuse to attend?
thpkht524@reddit
Where have you been the last few years…? That’s quite literally the norm here.
GetCapeFly@reddit
I live very rurally and have never needed to call the police. I don’t know anyone who has.
msj247@reddit
I live very rurally and next door had £40k of mountain bikes stolen one night, our camera recorded the lad walking past one way and cycling past the other way repeatedly, the police have investigated but can't find the bikes. Living in a rural area doesn't mean there's no crime.
OriginalSquare4832@reddit
How did they know they were there. Heard lots stories about stolen from quads from family in rural oxford
GetCapeFly@reddit
I didn’t say living rurally means no crime. We’re talking about shoplifting at supermarkets here, not crime in general.
Edible-flowers@reddit
We need to ask our MPs for more local police officers or train shop security to do citizen arrests on thieves. If I were stronger, I'd enjoy performing one. The only time I managed to be involved in stopping a thief was when I accidentally tripped up a kid stealing something from ASDA.
Richard__Papen@reddit
It's a good start. I think you can build on this
Edible-flowers@reddit
Maybe I could take up kickboxing & train my 57 year young legs to kick drop kick them!
Richard__Papen@reddit
I like it! Good to set achievable goals.
bubsy200@reddit
You'd enjoy performing it until you get stabbed. There's a reason shop staff just ignore it.
Edible-flowers@reddit
I didn't think about that. But it would be very hard for me to push someone to the ground unless they were under 5 ft & skinny or weaker than me!
Dapper-Lab-9285@reddit
Limited resources so non violent theft is way down the priority list for response.
LordBoomDiddly@reddit
But if you log it with a plate number they will investigate.
Eventually
split-tennisball@reddit
I wish I was as optimistic as you
LordBoomDiddly@reddit
I've filed a police report after a theft, they emailed requesting certain information and then eventually came back asking for more in person. So they were investigating, just took a while because they had other stuff to do.
Sopap@reddit
Knowing what you know, how would you improve this system? Would it be helpful to identify all shoplifters and alert staff when they enter the store?
LordBoomDiddly@reddit
It's hard since police have limited resources and these crimes aren't a priority.
I think collective local shop watch groups are helpful, if someone is a known shoftlifter or troublemaker in the local area it's good to know they're around.
No-Actuator-6245@reddit
No chance the plate is theirs
Fullchimp@reddit
Wouldn’t overestimate the criminal mind.
No-Actuator-6245@reddit
If the police don’t have the capacity to respond when there is 0 doubt about the identity of the perpetrator I really struggle to believe they would spend any time following up later when there is a reasonable chance of fake plates.
LordBoomDiddly@reddit
It's a start for them to go with
_thinkrecording_@reddit
Can confirm. I work retail in the Midlands and unless it is violent or high value, police will just give you a reference number. It is frustrating but they are stretched thin.
_thinkrecording_@reddit
Can confirm. I work retail in the Midlands and unless it is violent or high value, police will just give you a reference number. It is frustrating but they are stretched thin.
Eayauapa@reddit
The police don't do anything about domestic violence or assault, either. Fuck all chance they'd do much about shoplifting unless they're physically there when it happens.
StatisticallySoap@reddit
To busy arresting Redditors for saying naughty things or failing to verify their ID
PeppercornWizard@reddit
Because they were most likely attending a vast amount of domestic assaults or suicidal mental health calls that took up the response capacity for whatever area it was.
They deploy based on a threat / harm matrix and shoplifting is never up there, especially as the crime is most likely no longer in progress by the time the call is made.
RealLongwayround@reddit
Also, there’s a reasonable assumption that security will attempt to detain non-violent offenders. When security decide not to do so, they basically tell police that the company isn’t bothered.
PeppercornWizard@reddit
Yep, it’s a complete myth that the law doesn’t allow security to use force to detain thieves.
The force just has to be reasonable and proportionate.
Stores could also seek to claim their costs back with private prosecutions (some companies such as Train Operators have their own teams who do this).
So with well trained security they could easily make a dent into the problem. But they won’t because training costs money and they want to pay minimum wage and don’t want to pay for effective loss prevention.
RealLongwayround@reddit
Also, they tend to have outsourced security to independent companies which means the security staff have to conform to much stricter regulation.
AwokenGenius@reddit
When I got caught shoplifting 24 years ago, let me just say it was a different experience and I learned my lesson never shoplifted again. I ain't going to go into detail because it'll be like telling you my whole life story.
iamwiggy@reddit
so was that the experience that caused you to become an awoken genius?
Ornery-Let7457@reddit
Because it’s responsibility of the shop to prevent nonviolent theft.
Moppo_@reddit
And apprehend criminals? That shit's scary!
Due-Adhesiveness-744@reddit
Shop's contents are insured. Non-violent, so non-emergency (non-emergency is 101 callout, not 999).
You get communication when an investigating officer has the time.
Exact-Reference3966@reddit
No idea!
GetCapeFly@reddit
If it’s true, that’s downright terrifying for the state of the country. If the police aren’t attending crimes incident how do we expect to deter people from breaking the law. 🤷♀️
Drath101@reddit
It's true. Decade of retail. Have never had the police attend a non-violent incident. Used to get shoplifted multiple times a day every day. I will say they've always been excellent at coming out for the (many) violent people I've dealt with but just shoplifting? I'd be better off taking them to custody myself, better to just grab them and get the stuff back off them yourself
InEachHomeAHeartache@reddit
Pre Covid I lived in 'well to do' commuter belt area and this would happen all the time in Sainsbury's. Essentially two people with a trolley, put a ton of high value items like booze and meat in the centre of the trolly, sometimes put low value stuff like kitchen roll around the edge to make it look like a low value theft, and just march out the exit with it and see if anyone would bother to confront them.
Those were people stealing to order, I suppose.
scarby2@reddit
the meat maybe stolen to order or for personal consumption because it's perishable.
Booze is popular because it's high value, shelf stable and easy to resell. Same with baby formula, laundry detergent, etc.
These goods can be re-introduced into the regular supply chain by unscrupulous shop owners/market traders or just sold online.
chinderellabitch@reddit
Used to be a manager in a food shop chain, convenience sized and this was a daily battle
As a manager you’re stuck between a rock and a hard place
We would be in an endless cycle with the police of us reporting frequent shoplifters who were clearly doing it with intent to sell it on and they would just do nothing about it and then we received little support from higher ups as they just told us to keep reporting and wouldn’t implement simple changes that would’ve made everything safer (ie giving us a third staff member for the times that shoplifting regularly happened so that we could be some form of deterrent)
But we would have groups of six men coming in and clearing us out, with two female staff members on so it was just always a dangerous situation because they knew they outnumbered us. Other customers would lash out on us for not doing anything when that was what our company told us.
We had an incident when we had to press our panic button as there was a shoplifter backing a member of staff into a corner.
The police turned up three hours later, yawning as we were telling them what happened, and left within five mins basically telling us
‘Well it looks fine now’
Sopap@reddit
Knowing what you know now, what would you change to make this system better for shop owners? Would it be helpful to flag shift lifters and let the staff know when they come in? Or could we automate the police reports?
ThatBandicoot4769@reddit
I have witnessed it. It's been going on for years. Worse case I saw, two teenage girls walked into a small city centre newsagents, went to the fridge, spoke loudly about what they wanted from the fridge, helped themselves and then still talking loudly, just walked out. It was the first time that I had seen it done so blatantly. There was no shame, no attempt to cover up what they were doing, in fact they seemed proud that they were just taking what they wanted. It seemed clear they never paid for anything, ever. They were thirsty, so they just helped themselves to drinks with a huge sense of entitlement. I looked at the guy on the till and he just shrugged his shoulders and said it wasn't worth confronting them over something so low value and even if it was something more expensive, you never knew who had a knife. He could put himself and customers in danger.
There's just no consequences for these people and until that changes it will continue and prices will increase as the rest of us cover the cost of the stolen goods.
Disastrous_Let7964@reddit
Prices would be increasing regardless. These supermarkets are greedy bastards and always have been. Shoplifting is just a convenient excuse, they're not exactly losing a big percentage of revenue from it.
OhioRizzGyattSkibidi@reddit
actually supermarkets have notoriously low profit margins. usually around 3%.
MDRC122@reddit
Wrong. It doubled during the pandemic and has been sustained
OhioRizzGyattSkibidi@reddit
no, you are wrong. tescos operating margin is 4%, they operate on razor thin margins. every supermarket does.
Disastrous_Let7964@reddit
What dark crevice have you pulled that out of?
OhioRizzGyattSkibidi@reddit
the competition and markets authority:
https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/64b80adaef5371000d7aeefb/Competition__choice_and_rising_prices_in_groceries.pdf
Disastrous_Let7964@reddit
I was hoping for a direct quote or at least page number. That's a big document to read for a reddit thread point.
OhioRizzGyattSkibidi@reddit
page 52
Disastrous_Let7964@reddit
So their revenue is up by a general 7% and profits up by a general 3%, some higher and some lower on both, right?
But the document doesn't give exact £ numbers as far as I can tell, so as far as we could know, those seemingly small percentages could be a massive amount of money.
It seems that way considering the CEOs are receiving huge bonuses as well as big base salary increases on the backs of these profits.
https://www.retailgazette.co.uk/blog/2025/05/tesco-ceo-pay/
OhioRizzGyattSkibidi@reddit
all you are saying is they handled more volume whilst maintaining a low operating margin. do you know what an operating margin is?
Disastrous_Let7964@reddit
What I'm saying is what looks like a small profit margin could actually be a massive amount of money, money which is not as affected by shoplifting as they make out to justify price increases.
And if it were so deeply affected, why is the multi-millionaire CEO getting massive bonuses and base pay increases? If money is supposedly so tight because people are thieving oh so very much.
OhioRizzGyattSkibidi@reddit
since it seems like you don’t understand: their operating margin is 4%. that means when you spend £1.00 at tesco, they make £0.04 on average. how much lower do you want their prices to go?
Disastrous_Let7964@reddit
Again, just because that looks low doesn't mean it actually is. If it were, how are they affording to just throw massive bonuses and pay increases every single year at their CEOs?
The context of that £1 -> £0.04 number matters. It's only low in a vacuum.
OhioRizzGyattSkibidi@reddit
i’m not sure what point you’re trying to make here but i can tell you’re emotionally attached to your opinion. the fact is that supermarkets are one of the lowest profit margin industries there is. they make a small percentage on billions in revenue.
Disastrous_Let7964@reddit
I told you the point I'm making in as clear terms as I possibly can. It has nothing to do with emotions, but everything to do with the manipulation of statistics which these corporations are extremely good at doing.
Just because 4 pence on the pound looks low doesn't mean it actually is, because if it were, they wouldn't be able to afford to give their executives consistent, enormous pay rises and bonuses.
Clearly then, they are making more money than it looks like they are.
OhioRizzGyattSkibidi@reddit
4% is absolutely low. you ask to they can pay? tesco earned 70 billion in revenue and from that they made around 3 billion in profit. their ceo got paid 10 million. it’s pennies in comparison.
Disastrous_Let7964@reddit
Okay, and they made 3 billion in profit. I brought up the CEO as an example but the point is being aimed at the entire executive class of these companies.
3 billion in profit. Their highest executives getting massive bonuses year on year, their investors getting the same obviously.
You're making out like they're barely getting by when these are the numbers they're raking in.
OhioRizzGyattSkibidi@reddit
3 billion is 4% profit margin. i ask again, how much lower should their prices go? should they earn 2p per £1 instead?
Disastrous_Let7964@reddit
Why shouldn't they? Logically, that brings their profits down to 1.5 billion rather than 3 billion. Still far more money than any small group of already super rich people can feasibly need.
OhioRizzGyattSkibidi@reddit
because that would barely change the price for shoppers
Disastrous_Let7964@reddit
Why? If Tesco ate the cost of the thefts themselves, why wouldn't it change anything?
Unless... the shoplifting isn't actually as financially as impactful as they say?
OhioRizzGyattSkibidi@reddit
it wouldn’t change the prices much because their prices are already extremely competitive. as i said before they have a 4% profit margin
Disastrous_Let7964@reddit
So the prices have nothing to do with shoplifting then. Thank you.
apuddleofwaterx@reddit
If you shoplift, please steal from supermarkets. Don't steal from that small business that sells those pukka cinnamon rolls, thats evil.
MDRC122@reddit
Dim
Lost_Ad1589@reddit
Tesco, who directly accuse every single customer to enter their stores of shoplifting by subjecting them to overwhelming video surveillance throughout the entire experience, keeping bottles in a locked cabinet, coffee in plastic cases, showing you the video of your face they are recording as you pay for your shopping at self service and having security guards randomly frisk people on the way out of the store reported an annual profit of £3.13 £3.13 billion last year while CEO Ken Murphy banks in offshore tax havens.
Take what you want honestly, they both deserve it and can afford it.
I could steal from them until Ken has to sell his very last yacht without the slightest hint of bad conscience.
MDRC122@reddit
You're quite dense. The shops dont pay for it. The prices of their products are increased to account for shoplifting. So we pay it, including you. But you're probably a thief anyway.
Kitchen-Tart7037@reddit
every teen ive met shoplifts
MaltedMilkBiscuits10@reddit
Yes, in the supermarket I worked at until recently, shoplifting occurs multiple times a day.
Everything from Sandwich to people walking out with a Dyson vacuum cleaner . . .
Some folk would come in and clear a shelf of beef joints, others would be more organised and shoplift to order and walk out with a trolley full. Others would shoplift a specific item like a TV.
The professional ones would be incredibly organised and have distraction well played for example, one would buddy up with a trolley full of shoplifted items and the buddy would purposely set off the alarm a fraction of a second before the trolley goes through with the alarm still sounding. The security guard would check the person who intentionally set it off but they'd have a receipt for a cheap bottle of vodka or something. The other person would go through uninterrupted.
Scan as you shop makes it incredibly easy to do this as you can setup fake credentials and release a handset. On CCTV it looks like you are doing a normal shop then just dump the handset and walk out or pretend to pay at a self checkout, dump the handset and walk out. Obviously it's just easier if you are shoplifting without a trolley as you can hide stuff on your person and walk over to customer service and walk out of the main entrance looking like you've just been to customer service.
In the older days you used to get quite elaborate receipt scans for money laundering or refund fraud, typically you'd return a shop lifted item or an item bought cheaper from elsewhere with a fake receipt but they are a story for another day.
zonked282@reddit
A friend of mine swears that anything is buy one, get one free with those self scan gun things, says even if you get selected for a check they just scan a few different items and that second pack of hobnobs is yours for nothing
Virtual_Opinion_8630@reddit
How does this work?
Never used the self scan gun thing - if you get selected they check a random number of items?
zonked282@reddit
Yea. They scan like 15 barcodes, but the assumption is that they would do 15 different things
antonylockhart@reddit
He’s not wrong
InEachHomeAHeartache@reddit
Don't forget the old classic of the bottles of perfume, cologne etc. that they open, pour out the contents of replace with water then return!
DoctorWhofan789eywim@reddit
The only worry I have with a post like this is you've just explained very clearly how to shoplift a trolly full of items and not get caught!
Drath101@reddit
They already know, they're doing it 7 or 8 times a day 5 days a week
MaltedMilkBiscuits10@reddit
I did think about this, but it's already common knowledge between criminals, shop workers and security. The people who shoplift are already aware on how to do it so by me saying about their techniques won't benefit them at all but brings light to us genuine folk the lengths they go through.
Few-Neck-8811@reddit
It's rife but not a big deal
Remote-Brilliant5018@reddit
yes migrant gangs from all backgrounds
TiggyDubois@reddit
I was in Manchester city centre and a group of lads got on the tram with metal shopping baskets full of stuff, they'd clearly just gone around a shop, picked whatever they wanted and walked out with it. Completely unbothered.
ExcitementBig703@reddit
Worked in Morrisons very briefly for a bit, people will just walk in with no hood on no face cover nothing dressed completely normal, smart even and pick up bottles of alcohol or crates of beer and walk right out. They are in and out genuinely in the matter of 30 seconds so honestly if you arnt specifically watching you’d never see it… and what do you do call the police, “are they here” no they left they are gone
Glittering_Win_5085@reddit
It happens but I don't think all the media reports are good faith. There's always been people nicking stuff; but they don't want people thinking the nicking happens cos stuffs getting more expensive. They want people to think stuffs expensive cos people are nicking it.
Background-Ebb-9366@reddit
It is massively a huuuuuuuge problem!!
You probably aren't noticing it, most don't do it that blatantly as your more likely to get caught.
I'm very observant and see people all over the place doing it on the sly.
Think about this next time your in the shop, when you walk to say the chocolate aisle for a pack of kit Kat's, which you already want to buy..... How long do you think is a reasonable amount of time to be staring at the kit Kat's?
Anyone looking at something they plan on buying for more than 60seconds is likely buying time until your not around to notice them hide it to steal.
Don't get me wrong, that's a very general observation but I've grassed up a few people for stealing to staff and that's how I've noticed them,
I've managed to go the length of an aisle and take 7 different items off the shelf and into the trolley/basket and then when I've got to them, I've become pissed off because they are still staring blankly at something and in my way,
Then Ive walked past them thinking "fucking pricks, just stood there staring at the beans, what a cunt" looked back and seen them put a 4 pack of heinz in there back pack 🤣🤣🤣
Too few people are really observant and too many only focus on themselves.
I was once stood behind a chap in coop and he was arguing with the cashier about 30p, I couldn't be arsed so gave him the 30p
Got outside and he ran up and said "here, do you want some chocolate"
I said no, but he started to produce entire boxes of chocolate bars from his person, like 50mars bar a box size boxes
I said "where the fuck did you get them"
He went on to say that's not all he'd got,
Pulled like 3 of these boxes out, 2litres of cider and a bottle of wine.
I was stood behind him in a qué, couldn't see them, he was arguing with the cashier waving his arms round, nothing fell out, I still couldn't see them when he was pulling them out his coat and waist band.
It really is as bad as they say.
Weird-Leave-7265@reddit
yes, whenever im in a greggs in london someone is always just openly stealing stuff. i get in more trouble taking photos of the shoplifters than the shoplifters do
growthfocusedinvesto@reddit
Massively increased. When politicians and police decide not to take shoplifitng calls this is the result.
made_from_toffee@reddit
Seen the prices these days? Think the shops are “lifting” us. Not arsed, help yourselves. I don’t myself but when it’s £7 for a jar of shit instant coffee I won’t lose any sleep over it.
Captain_English@reddit
Who do you think is paying for ther thefts?
Best_Needleworker530@reddit
Insurance companies. Tesco is reporting record profits.
Florarolf@reddit
Insurance companies are profit based entities. If they pay for the loss they up their premiums or cancel the policy. In any case you are paying.
Captain_English@reddit
This is such a deliberately thick response.
handtoglandwombat@reddit
Yeah I mean as frustrating as it is for the rest of us… I get it.
Decent-Presence-1637@reddit
My local Superdrug has all staff equipped with BWC rig.
david4460@reddit
Copper here. Oh yeah. It’s ridiculous. The whole ‘the police don’t do nuffin’ rhetoric is equally nonsense. We know all our shoplifters. We lock them up every other day. The courts simply let them out over and over again on bail. Then Queen they do get a prison sentence tell do 7 days. Rinse and repeat.
I was a neighbourhood officer until December and it was so demoralising. I almost became mates with a few of them. One of them shook my hand and wished me well in my new role when I mentioned I was leaving haha.
I’ve locked the same people up three days in a row and they still get released.
YatesScoresinthebath@reddit
I'm a PS and have worked neighbourhoods, glad people on this thread are actually realising it's a real issue and not just saying the media have made it up like other issues . Reddit does seem to be abit naive to criminality at times
DopamineTrain@reddit
I know it's difficult for you lot too! Even on the rare times police have had time to arrest a shoplifter on scene, the shoplifter just says "I'll be out in a week/month and back here". It's absolutely brazen and deeply frustrating for the rest of us on all levels.
david4460@reddit
Honestly the arresting them in the act is largely irrelevant despite the media’s obsession. As I said we know them all so the crime gets reported, you immediately know who it is so you go at the start of the next shift to allow you time to do all the paperwork etc. but they get let out.
There’s lots of nuance and causes that obviously play their part but for me having worked as a neighbourhood cop for 18 months the biggest issue is letting them out after a week, still addicted to class A drugs. There’s no deterrent or support for them. Not really.
This is the biggest issue. “If I’m not kept in can you give me a lift back boss?”
Very occasionally it all aligns where a few of them are inside at the same time and its lovely and quiet. At least it gives the community a bit of respite.
We need far more prison places and rehabilitation services in prisons and the community.
No_Bike1773@reddit
4 days ago a fella walked into Greggs, took a sandwich and walked - all in 5 seconds. I just chuckled in disbelief.
joe_ally@reddit
In South East London I have seen it many times as a customer. I saw a drug addict walk into a pret an just take a bottle of coke near Euston station. The last time I was in boots near cannon street station in the City of London as I was paying for my item the cashier started shouting at someone who was apparently shoplifting and ran after tham.
I had a friend who used to manage a Co-op local in the midlands and he said it was extremely common and a source of job disatisfaction.
Anecdotally yes it is a big problem. The stats seem to back it up.
SuperPossible120@reddit
On the way to work this morning immediately as I leave my flat a crackhead approached me asking if I want anything from the shop, before it was a ya get what's available type situation cool to see they're doing preorders now!
ThatThingInTheCorner@reddit
Depends what area you're living in. I witness shoplifting a few times a month, and when I was working in retail in a busy city centre I saw it pretty much every day.
People don't even care if anyone sees them, they just do it in plain sight. Its also really random things, like I saw one guy filling his rucksack with cheese then he dropped it all on the floor and was desperately picking them up. Seen someone else just take tomato ketchup
Bounty_drillah@reddit
Yes. Especially if you live in a city with lots of crackheads and pros who come to the UK as part of organised begging/shoplifting gangs.
I see it regularly in shops and supermarkets. I also see the goods being sold on the street 10 minutes walk from my house. Detergent, meat and tins of Nescafe Azera. Like clockwork.
The worst was in a Sainsburys Local last year and the guy threatened the staff and customers with a Stanley knife.
DeirdreBarstool@reddit
Nescafé Azera is £8.50 for a small can in my local little sainsburys. No wonder people steal it.
Captain_English@reddit
So don't buy it, or shop elsewhere where it is cheaper. You're paying for the convenience of them stocking it, and to make up for the lifted losses...
DeirdreBarstool@reddit
I don’t buy it. Never said I did.
Bounty_drillah@reddit
Never understood the appeal, especially for that price. I'm surprised they don't stick it behind the counter with vapes and spirits. That's already the case with baby formula in the places near me.
funusernam3@reddit
It's lovely coffee for instant to be fair
LilacScentedStoat@reddit
I don't know what the media says tbh. But I have seen steps being taken by every shop I go in.
Tesco now have big glass doors on the wines and things. You have to push a button and wait.
The Range has mplemented gates you have to go through one way and there's a gate at the exit too. You can't exit via the entrance.
The Lidl near me has a security guard on the exit.
The Asda has word sliding plastic things over coffee and what not.
Sainsbury's put honey and condoms in security boxes with tags on.
Etc.
Seems every shop I go to has done some thing to up security... I am not a shoplifter I hasten to add.
gnufan@reddit
I cynically suspect they haven't increased the value limit at which they put things in security boxes with inflation.
The Mirror ran a story last year with £3.45 Tesco's reduced fat cheddar in a lockbox. I mean we eat Tesco's cheddar but if you are stealing cheese why wouldn't you steal even better ones?
More seriously shop lifting goes up as people find they can't make ends meet. It isn't really an excuse, food banks are good and you are not getting in trouble for getting food there.
bigchezzy12@reddit
Common misconception. A large portion of shoplifting is not people stealing food to survive. It’s a mix between drug addicts and alcoholics stealing to fund their addiction, organized criminal groups stealing en masse to then sell on for financial gain.
Superspark76@reddit
You know it's bad when Lidl needs a security guard
GainsAndPastries@reddit
We had a security guard at our local tesco, he has since been replaced by glass doors and receipt scanner after he was stabbed.
im-hippiemark@reddit
Flipping stabbed? What nutter stabs a tesco worker?
mrhippo85@reddit
That’s what a brazen shoplifter would say
matomo23@reddit
It hugely depends on the area. None of that stuff exists in any of the supermarkets round here.
Blondiepoo95@reddit
I live on the edge of London and it still counts as London but I often say Surrey/London when people ask where I’m from. I noticed there have been tags put on the more expensive booze and meats in Waitrose but that is about it.
matomo23@reddit
I do see it in most supermarkets in the South East of England though. I’m in NW England btw.
Blondiepoo95@reddit
There are some more tags on things and around Christmas time we did have a policeman patrolling the exits. I live in quite an affluent area so it doesn’t feel too bad.
I’ve travelled to see a friend and her local supermarket seemed to have everything under lock and key!! You would have to ask and get the large clear plastic doors unlocked to get to the products
ManInTheDarkSuit@reddit
Nobody knows where you are...
matomo23@reddit
Yeah that’s intentional.
ManInTheDarkSuit@reddit
I get that. Whole comment chain could be manufactured here because nobody is giving any detail.
Disastrous_Let7964@reddit
God forbid people don't want to advertise their real world living locations.
ManInTheDarkSuit@reddit
That's not the point I was making. A thread asking if something is as big a deal as the media make it out to be is being answered with examples but nothing to back it up. Nobody needs to doxx themselves.
It's all a bit "trust me, bro".
I love and work in the West Midlands. Some shops have a lot of security, some don't. My local Tesco doesn't. The one I visit in Birmingham does.
That tells you very little, because I haven't said where my local one is. There's no real data to take away and compare is there?
matomo23@reddit
It’s not that at all. It’s that so often I say where I live and people then don’t believe what I’m saying because the county I’m in can have very outdated negative connotations that simply don’t match the crime rates.
I’m happy to say though (so you don’t just think I’m being a dick) that I’m in Merseyside. Don’t want to be more specific than that but none of the supermarkets round here have shoplifting issues. But clearly that won’t be the case for the whole county, but certainly is where I am. I’m in the car park of a large Sainsbury’s as we speak, and can confirm it has no anti theft stuff on any of the products.
Disastrous_Let7964@reddit
Of course it is, there's not going to be evidence of it is there? It's just a reddit thread. Besides which, this entire thread is filled with specific anecdotes. You just seem to have picked one of the few without one.
sally_says@reddit
Someone saying they live in 'Birmingham', 'Derby' or even 'Mayfair' is not going to lead someone to their front door.
They don't even need to say they live there. Just providing a location is helpful.
Dusty_Miss_Havisham@reddit
It's completely irrelevant tbf, the point is it varies from place to place and not always where you might think
Dusty_Miss_Havisham@reddit
Sometimes it's because they are trialing various systems to see which has the better outcomes so you may see something rolls out in due course. But sure it's massively skewed by postcode and they will have done all kinds of analysis on what items get stolen most in certain areas - it really does vary quite wildly in some cases!
turbo_dude@reddit
People are stealing the steps?!
I guess we will have to ramp up now.
Captain_English@reddit
It's a slippery slope.
the_wally_champ@reddit
This morning the doorbell went, last week it was the bins…
Baggins_1420@reddit
The week before it was the car.
Realistic-Analyst-23@reddit
I noticed this last night. I hadn't been in lidl for ages but went in to buy one small item. You had to flash your receipt to escape. No way out other than that. I wondered what would happen if I hadn't found the thing I bought and wanted to leave without a purchase. I'm sure they'd let me out eventually but would I be searched?
nonlocality1985@reddit
In some supermarkets in Europe I’ve been to do this, didn’t see a problem with it
lost_send_berries@reddit
You can just push through, it will make a beeping noise but they can't keep you.
I don't do this, mind. It's just a psychological nudge, same as the red flashing "you are on camera" messages
mydonna@reddit
Our lidl does that, you need a receipt to leave, but if you can't find the thing you're after, you just go to the closest employee and explain and they let you out, no questions asked, so far I've never been searched
Edible-flowers@reddit
You'd have to either climb over or under it!
Major_Toe_6041@reddit
And then you have Home Bargains where nobody can even see the entrance in most cases, nor is it blocked or covered in any security..
whosUtred@reddit
lol, I read that as they’re putting honey in condoms lmao,. Now that would put them off
Puzzleheaded_Drink76@reddit
Long as it's not hot honey
tcpukl@reddit
Didn't you know honey damages latex?
Edible-flowers@reddit
Nope, I didn't know that!
Edible-flowers@reddit
They should've made a honey flavoured condom!
Bayff@reddit
The Morrisons close to me put them glass doors on the spirits but after a while they are not locked anymore, can only assume their sales went down from the hassle of having to wait for a staff member.
scarby2@reddit
There's a lot of data showing the glass causes a significant drop in sales.
I dislike the hassle and inconvenience so unless I absolutely need something I'm not buying anything behind glass. I'm actually getting to the point where I avoid going to shops that do this.
fortyfivepointseven@reddit
As a shoplifter I've noticed the same thing.
Esperanto_lernanto@reddit
I've always wondered what the point of the plastic sliding things is?
cherrycoke3000@reddit
They steal by the box. Clear shelves. Much harder to do quickly and discreetly with barriers in place.
SovegnaVos@reddit
So you can't swipe a whole shelf of stuff at once. Also makes getting something off the shelf less discrete.
Broccoli--Enthusiast@reddit
That seems more area dependant than anything
Round my wayt the only thing iv seen is Lidl needing you to scan a receipt if you go via self service
And well McDonald's has security but thats mainly because the only people sitting in that McDonald's are teenagers
resident_queerdo@reddit
Honey and condoms. Interesting combo. 🤔
cymru78@reddit
It's a new flavour
Automatic-Scale-7572@reddit
I'm surprised there's not hot honey. They've put it on everything else...
AwokenGenius@reddit
Now imagine a bigger version of this happening to the whole country.
The__Pope_@reddit
I think some greggs now have all the food behind the counter
No-Implement9331@reddit
The Tesco express nearby locked the coffee up with a alarm collar, funnily enough the coffee was called Nescafé gold. And they also installed a plastic barrier around the cashier so only enough space to fit your groceries on that plate.
im-hippiemark@reddit
My wife works in a nice village shop, and every single day someone is shoplifting. There are those that do a couple of small items, a chocolate bar in the pocket. And there are those who walk on with a large bag for life, open it, and slide the whole contents of the shelf into the bag, then just stroll out. Part of the reason is cost of living, but mostly people know they can get away before the police arrive from the next town. The shop manager has told the staff not to grab or touch the shoplifters, just block their exit. This has resulted in several staff, manager included, being shoved out of the way by shoplifters. A large percentage of those stealing are residents of the nice village.
MrP2471@reddit
We are. Has been like that for years. Shoplift to order witnessed by myself, many years ago, to thieves in the know that no one is authorised to challenge them. Blatand theft. But in our times sort of acceptable by the large shops, or tried to avoid by small corner shops and newsagents, for a cost.
quince_marmalade@reddit
Yeah isn’t it wild how people will steal when they are impoverished? When the government lets megacorporations (like Unilever and Mondelez) get away with record profits despite cost of living crisis? When the UK government never bothered to replace the EU‘s regulatory systems with a system of their own to prevent them from randomly charging more for no reason? (Way more than inflation mind you) When government bodies (like defra) actively stop publishing data that would show the extent to which this is happening? When the government has to cut disability benefits and support for special needs kids and pushes more and more families into destitution? When the government is more interested in bullying Apple into getting rid of encryption (so they can spy on us better) than in getting such companies to pay taxes? Yeah it’s all really hard to understand why people would be shoplifting in this economy.
best-before1990@reddit
All supermarkets should be click and collect/home delivery. No shoplifters, less risk for staff. Problem solved. Shlepping round the supermarkets is so outdated when we have the technology to replace this.
Missing-Caffeine@reddit
Used to work in retail. Yes, it is bad. Saw people filling bags and walking away, not worrying about a thing (security guard was off that day). Worst part is that these losses count to the profit from the shop (at least where I worked). So think that we have to hit the target of 10k on a day. Someone comes and steals 1k. Now we have to hit 11k of sales to make up for that. Couldnt hit the target? Corporate will cut down hours from the people working in the shop, which means those who are there need to do the job of more people and so it goes...
geeered@reddit
It depends where you are and what shops - a Waitrose in Bath, probably won't see it much. A Tesco Local in Brixton they'll look at you funny if you actually go to pay at the till!
pajamakitten@reddit
My sister used to work in the Waitrose in Ringwood and would see it all the time. It was a mix of gangs targeting that shop and middle class people 'forgetting' to scan some alcohol or meat.
geeered@reddit
I haven't actually been to the Waitrose in bath, but I suspect it's a lot more of the middle class stealing - which is typically not the sort of things members of the public will notice, vs gangs blazenly filling bags and threatening anyone that tries to stop them.
Dusty_Miss_Havisham@reddit
Brixton is pretty fancy these days tbf
Dickeynator@reddit
Specsavers has a sale on atm fyi
geeered@reddit
It's still being gentrified, definitely not fully there yet - a decent gap in both the Waitrose and Gail's store locations around it, for a start!
Dusty_Miss_Havisham@reddit
Fair...
handtoglandwombat@reddit
Endemic is the word you’re looking for, but yeah the shoplifting is out of fucking control. The media hypes up a lot of nonsense, but from what I see on a daily basis, this one topic in particular, the media is if anything not hyping it up enough. People have just given up any pretence of giving a shit, it’s so fucking brazen.
jetpilots1@reddit
I just saw my first shoplifting event in the almost 20 years I have lived here. At my local Sainsbury's at like 09:30 on Thursday morning as I was leaving the store, two scrawny Asian males bowled over the +70 year old security guard and got away with.....something. I have no idea what they had as it wasn't visible.
Other than this singular event, I have never witnessed anyone shoplifting in the UK.
GaryPartsUnknown@reddit
Yeah it’s bad in the smaller shops. In the past year I’ve lived in two different areas. Go to Sainsbury’s local almost daily and I see shoplifting weekly. People are just so brazen with it because they know nothing will happen.
Coop was definitely worse than Sainsbury’s too. Multiple times I saw people walking around filling up baskets and just walking out
Warburton379@reddit
Today I watched someone walk into our local Tesco, fill a basket with every lamb shank they had. Walk into the self service section, grab a bag, dump the basket into the bag, and waltz out to all the alarms going off. The staff didn't blink an eye. He walked out the car park, around the corner, and jumped into a van that drove off the second he got in.
hollowlittlereign@reddit
I used to work at a Greggs and it was a serious problem. We were strictly instructed not to interfere, which is typical for most places. I think its fair to say that most would-be shoplifters were aware of this, and therefore did not fear the consequences.
My partner works at a Tesco Express where she regularly notices shoplifters, but is also told to simply report it and not take action.
craigus17@reddit (OP)
One of the stories I’ve heard that specifically stands out is of a Greggs branch where on a daily basis the same people stroll in, take everything out of the fridge and then stroll out.
hlnarmur@reddit
I think thats most greggs. When I went to the one in Tottenham it actually had a security guard
hollowlittlereign@reddit
My store never got to that point, mainly because it was situated next to a car park. It didnt receive as much foot traffic as the town centre equivalent.
Regardless, its incredible how brazen some people will act for the sake of a red bull and a pack of goujons.
cherrycoke3000@reddit
Until recently I lived on one of the poorest estates in the country. The kids were brazenly stealing from Greggs because they were genuinely hungry.
eren_yeegarr@reddit
As I posted just now, that is precisely what I witnessed this week. Two guys came in and took about 8 baguettes. Majority of the shelf, actually.
Walked out with them. Nothing happened.
Darkus185@reddit
Yeah I’ve seen that happen twice in my town. I don’t know why they even rush. Nobody is stopping them.
Few_Comfortable7745@reddit
It’s truly terrible. They make billions and pay no taxes. Oh wait, sorry…the shoplifters. Yeah biggest problem in society today.
TheLoneCenturion95@reddit
I work retail security, if anything it's worse than the media makes it out to be and that's if we actually have time to spot and deal with shop lifters for all the anti social behaviour we deal with from teens and addicts. We security tag our chocolate ffs.
Browbeaten9922@reddit
God it really is. I see people ring stuff up at self checkout at my local Tesco express but then walk out without paying. They've put a delay on the doors so you can't just walk out.
New_Jellyfish4532@reddit
I nick something pretty much every time I use self service
CoolRanchBaby@reddit
I saw a guy (in his mid to late 20s to early 30s) the other day throw down a bicycle, run into our tiny local Boots, run straight back out with his hands and pockets full of expensive face stuff. Then he cycled a little way down the road and ran in and out of two more shops up the street. It was so brazen I was taken aback.
I also often see teens in the local Co-op using the self pay by the doors then picking up the stuff and running out when they get to the payment part. The machine takes a 20-30 seconds start beeping after they pick up the stuff so they are out the door and up the street before it starts alarming. Some of the day they have a security guard there by the door, and they don’t do it then. Just at times he isn’t there.
I live in a pretty safe/boring area, but it seem really common anymore.
Hefty-Chocolate-3929@reddit
I work in retail and yes it's bad, you get the obvious thieves who come in, grab what they want and run out.
It's the ones who take their time to detag and have someone else to distract you while whoever they're with bags it, are more difficult to pin point.
They're literally stealing thousands of pounds worth of stock which eventually pushes up prices so the genuine shoppers foot the bill.
We don't have a specific member of the team who can go through the CCTV to give to police so we're having to attempt to deter the thieves, serve customers and everything else that is expected of us (admittedly this last point is more on the company than in general.)
But even when the police actually take the total amount stolen and the CCTV and witness statements, the police and the courts services have been under funded for long it doesn't make much of a difference as the thieves might be in prison for 3 months but they come straight back out and are back to stealing. I'm not exaggerating when I say one of the known thieves in our area came back and stole on the day of their release from prison.
match-rock-4320@reddit
Yep we had £1.5k of hose accessories taken recently from our garden centre. Two guys came in and filled the lining of their jackets.
iamwiggy@reddit
"£1.5k of hose accessories" is a very funny phrase imo
insertitherenow@reddit
It is. Local small Sainsbury’s near me is losing £3000 a week in stock. I’ve watched scumbags just helping themselves.
404errorabortmistake@reddit
i dunno. i’d rather people went berzerk about the noncery afflicting half the top 100 ftse/nyse company owners, tbh
dragonb2992@reddit
I noticed in both M&S and John Lewis as you walk in there's a TV screen with the flashing words "recording in progress". Obviously just showing the CCTV wasn't enough. It does seem like shops are taking greater measures against it.
Prince_John@reddit
I've certainly seen it happening, bold as brass. In a town that isn't known for its crime levels
EventExcellent8737@reddit
This affects independent shops that cannot afford a security guard 24/7
Practical-Travel8575@reddit
I live in Hackney and it’s endemic. I see the same people running out Greggs with food, always up to stuff. Today I saw a road man on bike with about 10 packets of crisps fleeing. I also was in a kebab shop 3 weeks ago and a crackhead came in with two plastic bags of nicked stuff mostly soft drinks and the staff paid him cash in hand plus a kebab for the bags. Loads of customers watching.
worldworn@reddit
I've seen this several times.
I've seen this reported on SM arrest records. Again multiple times.
I have friends who work retail and have been threatened by the same people who come to steal every other week.
They call the police, the police know who these people are. They eventually get arrested, or restricted from the area.
They then come back again.
The things that get stolen are always high value and easy to sell on.
binarygoatfish@reddit
Yes so they can bring in facial profiling and dynamic pricing.
Then it will be stopped and they will say it worked.
Fantastic_Picture384@reddit
Yes.. and most of the time, the shops can not do anything about it.
Ali_103@reddit
Manager since about 2017 but worked in retail since 2010.
Definitely got worse. Nowadays it’s just too much to even comprehend, and that’s what we see. If I were to follow around suspected thieves I don’t think I’d get much else done. But I’m just so tired from all the budget cuts and increase I don’t even pay much attention to it now.
Unstableavo@reddit
Worked in retail 3 years and never knew prior just how bad it really is. Multiple times a day. We have no security first 8 hours opening. So it's up to us to either try to stop them and get it back, or leave it. When we see or stop a shoplifter we press a button which goes to an outside security company it literally does nothing. They keep coming back. We can't hold them, detain them. Nothing.
The main things stolen are washing detergent, coffee, chocolate & alcohol.
I really think the way it will go in the future literally everything locked behind glass doors, only can be opened by staff, have to have a receipt to get out.
Not 100% on the figures but I'm sure we lost 90k in a year from shoplifters.
Lawless society.
revpidgeon@reddit
I've worked in retail most of my life and they have always said that 5% of stuff gets shoplifted.
Chunswae22@reddit
It certainly is in Nottingham.
msj247@reddit
Yeah, daughter works in a small Tesco, group of people came in and cleared the shelves of toiletries and medicines, literally swept the products off the shelves and into bags. They're known for it. Police don't care and there's no longer a security guard in store. Other people come in and steal every single day, meat, alcohol, jars of coffee, washing powder, doesn't matter if it's tagged, no one's going to stop them. The thieves sell it for half price, easy money. I bought a dog lead yesterday, had to get someone to come and unlock the cabinet and get me a lead out because they get stolen so often they've had to lock the Flexi dog leads up in a metal cabinet! So yeah, it's mental.
Tarjhan@reddit
I work for supermarket. It’s one of those things that is an issue but gets over reported. There are organised groups and there is intelligence that gets passed between stores when they’re active in an area.
Below that are the individuals who are organised and well practiced. They tend to be the ones who know about the £200 limit.
Then there are the people who are deliberately taking things once or twice.
Finally there are the people who have accidentally failed to pay for something.
Reporting generally fails to separate those different types of shoplifting and lumps them all together. Overall shrinkage (what we call unexplained stock loss) is then the cash value that is bandied around. Emphasis is placed on the gangs aspect so you’re left with the impression that there are thousands of teams of people filing into stores and helping themselves to trolleys full of stock.
The commentariat have a bias and push that, companies are happy to allow that bias to play as it serves their purposes.
cragglerock93@reddit
I think it's highly location dependant. The supermarket I work in has really low levels of loss, relatively speaking, but it can be a lot worse in some locations. We identify theives a few times a week, usually stealing booze.
lubbockin@reddit
I see people load up bags and just walk out of the smaller Tesco in town. No fucks given.
Character-Bid-5089@reddit
Suppose it depends were u live. I seen security assault people and be assaulted by shoplifters. Seen trolley dashes and people just filling a basket. That's just one supermarket where i live in Newcastle.
Avon_gent@reddit
I work in Bristol and if I go into the center of town, without any hyperbole, it's a coin flip on any given day as to whether I'll see shoplifting or not. It's completely brazen these days.
Disastrous_Let7964@reddit
Tbf Bristol is a right shithole. Been there a number of times and it is somehow worse than any other city I've been to, crackheads and just filth all over the place.
cherrycoke3000@reddit
Give me Brixton any day of the week over Hartcliffe, Bristol. I rather Yardie Gangsters and gunfire in the block next door, than having to keep my kids home from school due to a double murder (Max and Mason) in the local school rivalry and the opposition wanting revenge by picking two random kids to stab. The Police had credible threats for 3 local schools.
All the kids know who Crackhead Kim is. C** will go door to door selling what ever he's shoplifted or stolen deliveries. The kids steal food brazenly because they are genuinely hungry. Before they shut the local Boots they stock was kept out the back and photos were on the shelf.
Many of these kids can't even afford the bus fare to visit the posh city center. Not that the buses are reliable. Bus drivers don't like the route due to the amount of times they get attacked.
Avon_gent@reddit
It's mixed, Cabot Circus is heavily patrolled by their security teams so besides being a newer space, it's night and day compared to broadmead which has essentially been abandoned to anarchy.
Disastrous_Let7964@reddit
Not sure what the names of the parts I went to were, a relative used to work at the Game there and had to deal with crackheads all the time. I used to do the coach station to train station walk and it was a precarious feeling holding any kind of luggage, some very dodgy places on that route. Some sort of park with a gazebo next to the water was just full of the classic undesirable types at any time of day
Bounty_drillah@reddit
Yeah I legitimately hate going to Broadmead. Crawling with reprobates.
phoenix_3141@reddit
There's a certain demographic of folk who will steal to order, or steal and sell to their neighbours/people they know who aren't as skint as them.
They use the funds to feed their habit.
LawfulnessOk6949@reddit
Yes. I worked in retail for about 2 years, yes it’s en endemic. Wed have regular shoplifters who’d come in once in the morning, then once later in the evening. At one point we’d have a gang that would run rampant at our store, before leaving and doing the same at another store maybe 10 minutes later. The majority do not steal for the essentials, it’s always steaks, lamb, or booze. I’ve seen 1 guy stealing some nappies and baby food, obviously as he needed it, I just turned a blind eye, just walked off.
the vast majority of shoplifters would steal to sell on for drugs or debts to pay off, if they got caught it would be a slap and the wrist and I’d see em again in a week or two
sporops@reddit
Fuckin do like a scan as you shop…
Healthy_Spite_2334@reddit
I keep seeing brazen shoplifting so i would say so
Expression-Little@reddit
I saw a couple of teenagers shoplift from Tesco by scanning the items at self-checkout then just walking out with them. That said - if you see someone stealing baby formula, no you didn't.
Grass_Hurts@reddit
Isn’t it just a reason to expand facial recognition at this point?
secretlondon@reddit
I’ve seen people stealing and I’ve had people try and sell me coffee jars on the street
stuaird1977@reddit
In the 2000s I worked as a LP. Manager for Asda. We had theft literally every day sometime small sometimes £300 plus of full trolleys. Literally stacking Dvd players and walking out. Those days the police come and arrested them, now not so much so it's definately an issue.
DevilishlyHandsome63@reddit
Round by me it definitely is bad. There's someone stopped every time I'm in Tesco,and the alarm goes off in Aldi regularly, but nobody seems to be stopped.
WeDoingThisAgainRWe@reddit
Worse than you see in the media, in my experience. Shops round here have photos up and security in them. Can hear the security talking to the others up and down the street.
lorenzoc04@reddit
I’ve never shoplifted and never will, but going through the comments. Is it really that easy? No wonder people are doing it
Dangerous-Use7343@reddit
No its just so they can introduce face watch technology and steal all our biometric data. They are using shoplifting as the excuse. It will be in all supermarkets, then the streets because theft and antisocial behaviour will move there. And then they will habe perfect big brother surveillance on everyone, everywhere.
If there's ever another pandemic then they will know if you have been out more than once that day. Or if you have moved out of your zone. Check our swilliams on yt.
johnny5247@reddit
It all depends on location. The cities (where all the reporters live) is also where most stealing from shops occurs. Their reports give the impression that stealing is endemic. In smaller communities it's a lot less because everyone knows the would be theives.
eren_yeegarr@reddit
Yes. Some experiences of my own over the literal last seven days:
in Greggs waiting in the queue, two people came in, grabbed a load of baguettes and walked out
in a small Tesco store, a guy grabbed a load of wine and walked out, ignoring the effective as piss security guard
in Lidl, I was paying for my goods at the checkout when a guy with a full basket legged it without paying, being chased by staff who subsequently gave up.
when I was in a charity shop a guy came in, took some men's clothing and walked out with it without paying.
That's four instances, in a quite well off area too.
It's fucked. Fucked.
robjamez72@reddit
If the media reports it, it’s news. If it’s news, it doesn’t happen often.
Ok-Ingenuity7088@reddit
I work in a trade shop but it has goods on shelves that customers can pick from. In my experience it is a real thing. Had an incidence the other week where a gang of 4 came in, found the shelves with the most expensive items(around 80 quid) and proceeded to fill their jackets despite being to told to stop. Staff threatened with violence of trying to stop them. According to police they did a few shops in the area that week
Mrs_Bazza@reddit
I've witnessed it three times in my local One Stop and I rarely even go in there.The first time was a guy grabbing a load of fresh meat, second was 2 women filling bags with fresh and frozen items (and then got in a car around the corner with 2 men in it) and the third was a guy walking out with a big box of beer. I've heard about other times where the staff have also been assaulted and have noticed that the staff now wear body cams.
frontroomhog@reddit
I worked at an Asda and the toilet rolls were on pallets and just rolled into place. As the levels got lower you could see the little hidy holes kids would make to nip I to and remove the packaging from things like headphones
Philosafish-@reddit
I used to live in crystal palace. The Tesco and co op there would get robbed daily. As during I was WFH that time and would use lunch for a walk.
That was 4-5 years ago
SoggyWotsits@reddit
I’ve seen it quite often in supermarkets, and I live in a relatively low crime area. It’s being reported frequently because it’s happening frequently.
Snoo-67164@reddit
I'm based in London and regularly see shoplifting. It has absolutely, definitely got worse in the past few years, which is no wonder when the cost of living is so challenging here. A couple of times I've flagged it up to security. A couple of times staff clearly saw it but were kind of powerless to do anything. And once I've seen security escorting out a shoplifter.
irish_horse_thief@reddit
Most cctv cameras are pointed at staff. I've fit enough to know this.
SelfSufficientHub@reddit
Should point them at the horses, then we’d catch you
Edible-flowers@reddit
I used to work for Bristol CC (1990s), watching CCTV of the areas of shops surrounding Broadmead, etc. Back in those days, there were generations of families all criminals. They used push chairs & long padded coats to steal thousands of £ worth of goods on an almost daily basis. Passing on information to security staff & Police...
Bounty_drillah@reddit
Aye, the Kovacs 😉
N64Andysaurus92@reddit
As someone who works in a supermarket, yes, yes it is. And when they get caught a lot of them genuinely don’t think there’s anything wrong with robbing a big company 🫠
Sea_Pangolin3840@reddit
I have seen a person stopped outside Sainsburys by a store detective so not all just wandering out unchallenged
Antisocial-Metalhead@reddit
Witnessed it a few times. Our local Boots has all the makeup items locked up, not expensive ones either just the cheaper brands. The shoplifting in our area is a problem. It’s the same few culprits who are persistent offenders in between stays in prison.
It’s one of the most deprived areas in the country so that probably doesn’t help.
BlueLeaves8@reddit
Awhile back someone in the UK sub said they take boxes of Krispy Kreme’s by scanning something cheap for the same weight. They were upvoted en masse and I was downvoted for criticising them.
That was depressing.
Ok_Leadership_2967@reddit
I worked at Wilkos. One of the most thieved items was Lynx body spray. The shoplifters would bring in a dustbin liner and sweep the whole shelf-full into it and then do a runner. They could easily sell it to market stall holders. Razor blades was another one until they were secured in tagged clear plastic boxes and hung at the checkouts.
Scottish_squirrel@reddit
I live near a big Tesco. Baskets of alcohol are taken out the first exit every single day. The shop seemed oblivious when I pointed it out
SigourneyReap3r@reddit
Its been around 9 years since I worked in supermarket retail.
I could reel off endless stories of men packing their tackies with packets of bacon, being rush robbed like supermarket sweep, small thefts, thefts from deliveries, thefts in store, and seeing the products from where I worked being sold around the town and being offered them in tbe local for an extreme discount.
I cannot comment on any increase as its been 9 years but in the 6 years I worked supermarket retail it was almost daily.
42ElectricSundaes@reddit
No. Wage theft is though
Busy-Doughnut6180@reddit
Yes. It is really bad.
I worked in retail for a long time until about 3 years ago and some my friends still work in the last place I was at. Shoplifting went from something that happens from time to time, to an every day, sometimes several times a day thing. One of the reasons I left was because I couldn't handle the stress of the constant aggression and violence, and also the pressure from higher up to challenge these people. In my personal experience, it's been really bad since around before the pandemic.
I would say that customers don't notice it unless someone is kicking off.
In one place I worked, we had regulars. They came daily, then would eventually be arrested, spend some time inside then come back and do it all over again. Another place, I remember a child was watching the shop. He was waiting for when we'd start our lunches and it got busy so he could tell the adults he was with when to go in. In my last job, there were constant fights, and the quiet ones would steal phones from customers without them noticing. I'd walk past the freezer and notice the entire shelf of frozen meet I'd just stocked was gone.
It is really bad and they do it because they don't care. They know they will more than likely get away with it, and if they don't, the punishment is so little it doesn't bother them. There are also cases where they prefer to be put inside for a bit because it's somewhere to sleep.
When the news started reporting on it, I thought, "Fucking finally".
General-Cow9036@reddit
I've seen it, happened to me in a small shop i worked in
OldEcho@reddit
Violent crime is way down but the media has to go on about crime in order to justify ballooning the police budget so they do.
More people are shoplifting because they can't afford groceries. Everything is more expensive because the pedophile oligarchs have been robbing us blind for decades.
The same food from the same factories costs double here just lining the pockets of the rich. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f63qalvQADc
CaptainSpazclart@reddit
If you see someone shoplifting from a major supermarket during a cost of living crisis, no you didn't.
Automatic-Scale-7572@reddit
Ordering from shoplifters isn't a new thing. There were meat men in London pubs taking lists 15 years ago. Shoplifting is definitely more common now. I see it on a weekly basis here in Cambridge. It would have surprised me before the pandemic enough to mention it in conversation to someone afterwards. I'm now far more surprised by the prices and the difference between having a loyalty card and not. There might be a link!
Cultural_Ad_2550@reddit
Every single time I go into the M&S at the train station, I witness at least one theft. All sort of people, ages.
And the Sainsburys Local I live near, probably at least every other visit.
Sometimes it's the brazen take everything off shelf and run. Usually it's the sly slip something in pocket or whatever. Often in M&S, they'll slip something in a pokcet and grab something. They get caught for the thing in hand, but not pocket.
South London.
SdanoG@reddit
The b&m in our town a couple go in and grab whatever and a 3rd on e pretending to be on the phone waits outside to step forward for the entrance only door to reopen so they can escape, I was sat in the car opposite awaiting my Son and saw them do 3 runs in, twice leaving with a microwave each couldnt make out 3rd items
asfish123@reddit
Not see it go one but you can see the measures, my Tesco has wrapped every bottle of spirits and half the wine in a metal net with 2 tags. I bought a bottle of whiskey a few months ago that was on special offer and was in a box that was wrapped in the net, when I open the box at home there was a 3^(rd) tag.
The local Co Op store which I’ve used for 15 years for now has a security guard on all the time
Police never attend and not sure why there are guards as they won’t deter the thieves.
Ok-Isopod1172@reddit
Absolutely it is. I was in a Sainsburys local recently that im frequently in. A man was brazenly filling his pockets. I went to the next aisle where one of only 2 people who were on shift was replenishing stock and told him what was happening. He thanked me and walked towards the man who instantly walked out. Both staff members went to the door and shrugged as the man walked down the street.
The employees told me that they're instructed not to apprehend anyone and that Sainsburys no longer employ a security guard in that shop so the shoplifting is now out of control.
No-Sea-9733@reddit
At our store, it’s absolutely shocking and that’s only what we know about. Unless shops are reporting it, you’ll never know but yes, it’s bad.
Darkus185@reddit
I’ve seen on more than one occasion, small town in Somerset, people just emptying the shelves of stuff and walking out. Probably a couple of times a year?
DishOk9726@reddit
My mum's friend works part time in a supermarket. She said there has always been a problem with stealing but it's definitely getting worse and the thieves are more brave. The staff now have to wear a body cam! I guess the thieves know they are more likely to get away with stealing as rightly, staff shouldn't be risking their safety to stop them! I wouldn't be
Boboshady@reddit
It absolutely happens, and more-so than it used to be as the thieves have gotten accustomed to basically being able to do it unchallenged, but the level to which it's openly done still depends on the area, I would say - rougher areas, you'll absolutely get gangs just walking in and taking what they want - I've seen it with my own eyes, stood in line to pay in a local shop when a group walks in for their daily snacks and drinks, casually brandishing a cleaver or two to get the point across. Note, this was several years ago.
Lack of local policing to deter it, or to follow up what is often just a low value crime, don't help, and explains why they're stealing drinks and chocolate rather than holding up the till.
I know my local Tesco express now has security guards, recently updated fridges that means you can't just snatch and leg it, and tags on everything of value - usually the meats and boxes of chocolates etc.
Stealing to order is simply common sense - no point nicking stuff you might struggle to shift, when you know someone is going to give you 50-75% of the sticker price for something they want on-demand.
It's not every shop, nor every area, however - any stories telling you we're surrounded by it isn't true, like all stories they are inflated to generate fear and hatred, with just enough basis in truth that they can't be readily taken down as absolute bullshit.
I'd also say that there's different kinds of shop-lifting - there's people who genuinely do it just to survive on one end, and the brazen daily snacks brigade at the other, but in the middle there's all manner of white collar theft going on where people simply don't appreciate the price of items. I know a few people who are not exactly poor but would always steal batteries and razor blades (two of the OG most stolen items for many years) simply because they were ridiculously expensive, and always have been.
JohnCasey3306@reddit
nothing is as the media suggests.
Minsc_NBooToo@reddit
In my local co-op mince beef and cheese are in plastic tubs
broadarrow39@reddit
Saw a guy get pursued out of a supermarket in central London the other night, the store security challenged him and just let the guy walk off, he was in no hurry. Just brazenly wandered off with the security guy calling him a thief. Guess it's not worth getting assaulted or stabbed for.
Ok-Rain6295@reddit
I used to live near a Tesco that had security tags on the shopping baskets so I think that says it all.
kelleehh@reddit
Yes it is. I used to work for Asda and I’m still in contact a few people that still work there. They have now got rid of security for an outside company where the ‘guards’ just go on their phones all day and it’s common for 10-15 full trolley walkouts everyday. The store policy is not to approach them. Fucking joke. When I worked there the police would come out for someone stealing £10 jeans and the result being a suspended sentence for them. People can do whatever the fuck they want now as 9/10 the person doesn’t get punished.
PatSharpe01@reddit
I've not seen this in the media, as I try to avoid any newspapers and sensationalist news... But, I have seen the same couple of people stealing from my local co-op on a regular basis.
They walk in, grab stuff, the staff tell them that they can see what they're doing and will call the police, but they know they can get away with it... And the poor staff aren't paid enough to get injured or shouted at, so it continues.
I've not seen it for a little while, but the guys doing it look like druggies, so probably selling it for more gear, I doubt they're consuming it themselves. As the poor get poorer, and the rich get richer, I can only presume that this will keep getting worse and worse. Government not spending enough on community policing is probably another issue, I've noticed the smell of weed get much more commonplace near where I live, and this has got much, much worse in the last 10 years.
SdanoG@reddit
Asda now by us has cards on the nicotine replacement items, you hand to staff member and they retrieve it from locked cabinet near office
peachypeach13610@reddit
It doesn’t help that the “security” in shops and supermarkets do not do anything at all to stop potential shoplifters. I used to work in this Apple Store where every single day multiple items were being stolen. Most thieves would run out and act suspiciously inside the shop as well, security knew and wouldn’t even attempt to stop them. Not saying you need to risk your life or run after them outside the shop.. but fucking hell, the laziness was comical.
Dukeandmore@reddit
Majorly, crackheads and smack heads come in stealing every day and getting aggressive. Repeat offenders and we know the names of them all.
GoshDarnBlast@reddit
A lot of customers are blind to it, somehow. Where I work we have regular shoplifters, that come multiple times a day, most days. Every time the manager shouts at them to get out we get flabbergasted people saying they never knew it happened here, despite them having just walked past someone sweeping the goods off of a shelf into a bag.
Also the customers who are incensed that we’ve got barely any stock on the shelves most of the time, and can’t see the correlation between that and the regular theft in store.
Dry_Action1734@reddit
Never seen it here in my part of Mid Sussex, but I imagine it’s rife in shitholes like Crawley.
Seen it happen in the Croydon Greggs three times though. Guy just swipes as many sandwiches into his t-shirt as he can and waddles off.
thepuzzlingcertainty@reddit
I unfortunate live in Bradford and its common for young men to refer to it as 'grafting'. As if its like some respectable hard work. I was in a homeless shelter and invited someone to the shop with me, he asked if I was grafting and I said no I'm unfortunately unemployed I'd never heard it refered to stealing lol, anyway I bought us both a pizza from the bakery and he seemed really shocked.
purplepoaceae@reddit
The coop near where I grew up in Bradford is terrible for shoplifting. It used to be meat, men would run in, grab all the lamb and run out. Now it's women sending their 6 year old in alone to fill up a basket with as much laundry detergent as they can carry and they walk out without being challenged. Staff know exactly who they are and the police don't care enough to do anything about it.
shrewdlogarithm@reddit
I've seen this a fair bit
There's an estate on the far side of our town - one side has a B&M - another has a LIDL and then there's a FarmFoods halfway along.
B&M has a near constant stream of people walking-in, grabbing anything they like and walking out - it happens EVERY time I'm there - the staff have been told NOT to stop them and Police will not attend due to having been called 'too many times' - B&M have done nothing, no security, no changes to layout etc.
Note: B&M do require staff be searched before leaving - that says something doesn't it?
Lidl had a similar issue but took a firmer stance - moving beer far from the doorway, adding barriers, hiring security and putting bodycams on the staff - this resulted in someone choosing to break-in out-of-hours instead which included severing the store's main power, setting the place on fire and ruining the entire stock of the freezers and fridges/closing the store for several days (whether the spunkbubble survived I've no idea)
Farm Foods is the best tho - there's a girl who works there, she must do rugby or something because I've seen her bodyslam at least 3 people and come back into the store holding her 'trophy' can of beans or whatever - I'd pay to watch this but it's free AND I get crisps cheap!!
Naive-Interaction567@reddit
Yes! I live in a city centre and I see shop lifting in our Sainsbury’s local daily. They can’t do anything about it. My husband tackled one to the ground and the security were so grateful because they’re not allowed to do that!
Zealousideal_Fold_60@reddit
in London, seen it many times, people just fill up bags, walk, security etc watch on.... its bad ...
RadiantTown9154@reddit
It’s always been bad I worked in retail from the early 00s until around 2018,
People shoplift to order, they’ll come in steal meat, and other items then go and sell them in the pubs/on the estates.
I worked at a homeless hostel for a while residents there used to take lists in the morning ‘what do you want, what size do you wear’
It’s never really been violent I’ve never seen that side of it.
I was a retail manager for Merlin theme parks for a few years, we had cameras everywhere and security were always on site but you’d still get people try and steal toys.
Police won’t ever attend unless there’s been violence or the shoplifter has a weapon, to get it to court the amount stolen has to exceed a certain threshold and the majority of shoplifters and unemployed/no income so any restitution order isn’t going to be fulfilled so the company would pay legal costs for nothing
VixenRoss@reddit
A family “friend” is always stealing. They go into the local shop and take chocolate bars, toilet rolls, snacks. They think it’s funny/a game.
I’ve pointed out they’re in danger of being banned from the shop.
Novel_Ad_8369@reddit
I know that in our local co-op shoplifters brazenly clear the shelves. Staff are powerless to do anything about it.
sparksqueen@reddit
I worked in a petrol station that sold alcohol and it was rife. You would get people walking in and opening up the fridge as if they were in their home and steal cans of Stella and bottles of Budwiser in particular. There was a lot of chocolate theft as well especially when there was boxes of Ferrero Rocher when it was on promotion.
The kids were very brazen about it. Worse than the adults at times. Especially as you'd get a group of them who would go to the front counter and try and steal vapes from the display at the tills. They would also be bad for stealing sweets and juice as well. The adults would at least try and be discreet most of the time and go in and out. The kids would wreck the shop. I was more concerned about deterring them than the junkies!
moseeds@reddit
Yes. In London.
Bludclaart@reddit
I work in home bargains. It gets absolutely RINSED by the Romanians. The smackheads can't even get a look at them now
One_Negotiation_303@reddit
My daughter worked in a Tesco in Sheffield for a year. She said there were shoplifters in every day, some appearing to steal to order, others grabbing whatever high value stuff they could be fore legging it. The first kind were organised gangs, the second looked more like addicts. They didn’t have a security guard and staff generally didn’t get involved - it wasn’t worth getting stabbed or beaten up over.
Jebble@reddit
I see it almost daily in central London, quite literally.
slimboyslim9@reddit
My lived experience is the opposite of other comments. Live in a fairly large urban centre, do a big shop every weekend and small ‘express’ shops to top up a couple of times a week and never witnessed shoplifting.
Couple of times I see security questioning people in the door of the big shop, so ‘not being stopped or challenged’ is not my personal experience either.
DeirdreBarstool@reddit
It makes the whole experience less pleasant for law-abiding customers too.
I go into the same little sainsburys at least once a week. Same security guy on the door. He watches me like a hawk and follows me. I feel uncomfortable and like a criminal even though I have never stolen anything in my life. I know he’s just doing his job but I’ve been coming in here for 6 years. If I was going to nick something don’t you think I’d have done it by now!
Milvusmilvus@reddit
It's always been the same. Had a guy try and walk out of my shop with a 2m ladder over his shoulder once in about 2008. That's probably the most brazen. He asked us not to call the police because he was on probation.
Disastrous_Let7964@reddit
That one sounds like a legit kleptomaniac at that point. Stole this massive obvious thing then begged not to be reported like he couldn't help it.
Then again, some people really are just immensely, deeply stupid, no mental health condition required.
mister-rik@reddit
Was it a junkie that wanted to get high?
Intelligent-Exit-634@reddit
I think a lot of it is inside jobs and insurance fraud.
WhatsThePlanPhil95@reddit
I see it in my local Asda all the time. Sometimes it's sad though, like I'll see a lady put some vegetables in her bag and things, I honestly don't think they choose to pick on people like that.
It's when you get to the self-checkout where you see actual thieving, like, the other day a guy's card was declined but he put all the items in his bag anyway
Disastrous_Let7964@reddit
To be fair, the declined card guy sounds the same as the lady with the bag. Attempted to pay, realised he couldn't but also realised he needed food too much to just not get it.
WhatsThePlanPhil95@reddit
It's true, I don't judge, I notice with the corner of my eye and move on. I have no idea what their circumstances are 🙂
MyCatHasExtraToes@reddit
I used to work in a shop in a deprived area about 10ish years ago, it was a massive issue then. The thing I learnt was that if enough people do it in a community you can’t deal with it, if it’s just a few that can be handled but when you’ve got dozens of people doing it then the police can’t deal with the amount, or so it seems anyway. What you don’t know is whether there’s bigger crimes going on and they’re just building a case and want to get them for something bigger. There was a massive amount of drugs going on so shoplifting is probably fairly low on the scale comparatively.
DeirdreBarstool@reddit
The Co-Op near me has all of the meat and alcohol in locked fridges and you have to press a buzzer for a staff member if you want anything. I asked the guy who works there and he said the shoplifting is constant and even a security guard didn’t put them off.
I’ve also seen people just walk into Greggs and pick up food and just walk out. It’s not just kids and scruffy looking people either.
emotional_low@reddit
I believe so.
I'm funny with my food, so I spend a lot of time picking up various products and looking at the nutritional information listed.
I routinely get followed by security guards (I guess I look suspicious??), and it has gotten much worse the last couple of years. I never used to get followed that often, but now it's nearly every other trip that I feel as though I'm being watched by staff (small COOP).
Which is a shame, because I've never shoplifted. It sucks being followed and looked upon with suspicion when I'm just trying to make healthier decisions.
Real_Collection_6399@reddit
It’s literally everyday, ask any retail worker.
ultimateberk@reddit
Worked in a shop two years ago and it was rife. Trolley loads being taken out, only allowed to put 3 chocolate bars on thr shelf. Threatened with violence as they leave, chavs on e scooters and ballys scooting in and robbing beer crates and scooting out. Endless food and drinks eaten and drunk with rubbish discarded on the shelf. Co op in case you wondered. Also only ever 3 staff on shift at any one time so was super easy
Double_Jelly2589@reddit
Yes , worked for a upmarket retailer that's sells homeward clothes and food
Left the role nearly 4 years ago and saw shoplifting increase really quickly.
We were in a shopping centre and previously used to have police situated nearby. We would have proper interview rooms with bolted down chair and table photos were taken and logged as any shoplifters were arrested and banned
Then the police no longer started to attend so it quickly became a catch and release. To the shoplifters this was just a numbers game as no arrests were being made. Shoplifting because out of control
At Christmas this was were people will fill trolleys to the brim and walk out. All we could do is ask for a receipt and if they couldn't produce one we held on to it until they could. It was soul destroying the amount that was doing it and the lack of staff just made the situation worse.
StephanieLillibet@reddit
I know someone who does this regularly, they told me if you get confrontational and get in their face they let you go. Not long ago I had no food in (first time it was really, really this bad) and I'd never walk out of a shop without paying. Haven't got the guts.
ConsistentCrazy5745@reddit
I wonder if its just shops thinking everyone is shoplifting. We got kicked out of a shop last week cos apparently my husband has been posted on face watch for being violent or shoplifting but he hasn't done neither. He's the kind of guy who wouldn't dream of stealing anything and he's had no reason to be violent with anyone especially in a shop. He's certainly not been prosecuted for anything. We've asked face watch to see what evidence they have of him committing a crime but they've suddenly been unable to help us so now we're wondering if he's going to get kicked out of more shops 🙄 yes i think shoplifting could have increased but it's those hard faced people doing it like the people who just walk into Greg's and empty a fridge etc surely the average person knows they're not likely to get away with it
Disastrous_Let7964@reddit
I only ever saw the aftermath of someone trying to shoplift. It was two fully grown men, one escaped from the security and the other was successfully detained and dragged upstairs (it's a big Morrison's) all while shouting "I 'ay dun nuffin'!!!"
Didn't see any items he could have taken but might be the other guy got them or something.
Likewise, I also just 'hear' things happen in the nearby Asda I rarely go to but that's just random rumour.
I don't think it's the massive problem the media says it is, maybe it depends by area. But the media essentially promoting it and the idea of just walking in and taking shit because the staff aren't allowed to stop you is only exacerbating it.
gander8622@reddit
It's so bad, my wife and I usually go over to B&M bargains to see what the shoplifters are getting. 3 guys walked out with a trolley of stuff one evening.
They aren't exactly hiding it anymore.
-TheHumorousOne-@reddit
Seen posts where Greggs workers have mentioned how common it is for people to walk in and just take several sandwiches.
craigus17@reddit (OP)
That’s exactly the anecdote that prompted the post.
Lifeisapurplecloud@reddit
Yes John Lewis in Scotland witnessed two boys who looked about 11 stealing multiple boxes of after shave. We told them to put it back but they were completely nonplussed. Also said to the shop assistant who was the same. Saw them walk out the door with it then run
QueefInMyKisser@reddit
I never see it when I go to the supermarket. Maybe I’m simply not very observant but it surely can’t be as blatant as everyone is making out.
Pockysocks@reddit
Used to get it a lot when I worked on the high street. And it would often be the same items. Electric toothbrushes, shaving equipment, face creams and perfumes when we still sold perfumes. It was too routine and by the same people for it to be impulse theft.
The times we were allowed to get the police involved (We had to ask permission from our superintendent) I think we only got one resolved with compensation for the stolen items and the guy doing it was back a few weeks later trying to do it again.
Puzzled-Job9556@reddit
If shops are putting chocolate behind anti theft devices, then yes it is.
BreadMemer@reddit
I literally watched someone earlier try to walk out of my local cornershop with 5 cans of instant coffee that were all still in security boxes.
The fact that shops are putting things like instant coffee in security boxes is enough of a sign on it's own, the fact they are then still trying to take them after that is even worse.
Mysterious_Drag654@reddit
The wife works in a supermarket. It's rife, the police don't do anything about it and security aren't paid enough to tackle it. I did once see an employee of said supermarket chasing a kid around the isles who had attempted to steal alcohol.
Evening-Web-3038@reddit
The shoplifting to order part can be wild... I've been on a few nights out to a major Northern city and you'll literally be sat in a pub and someone will come in asking if you'd like to 'place an order'. A lad i was with tried it for a laugh and put in an 'order' for perfume for the missus. £20 iirc for a proper brand. The dude went away and came back 30 mins later with the item!
Spirited_Opposite@reddit
I've seen people shoplifting on so many occasions now, I had seen it a couple of times ever before the oandemic and it was people doing it in a "hidden" way whereas I now see people doing it brazenly even when confronted by staff not stopping, and in every supermarket I go to (I go to 5 different ones habitually to buy different things)
Sendmeaquokka@reddit
Yeah, in London I see it a lot. People don’t even try and be secretive about it. They walk in and just start taking bottles of booze from the shelf. Worse place I’ve been for it is Waitrose Brunswick Centre where a guy stole 3 bottles of Disaronno. So random.
Snoo_23014@reddit
I live in the inner city, as part of a very mixed cultural community. The Morrisons , tesco and Aldi all get robbed constantly as well as having constant beggars at the doors.
The local businesses are a different matter. I cant imagine what would happen were someone to be caught stealing in the Asian supermarket , but nobody would dare.
beeurd@reddit
I know quite a few people who work in different supermarkets - they are too short staffed to monitor shoplifters so they just get away with it. The stores head office introduces new measures to help try to prevent it, but none of it works if the staff aren't available to stop them walking out the door.
Crazy-Condition-8446@reddit
The fact that things like steak and coffee, come in security cases, really speaks for itself.
Erivandi@reddit
Absolutely. I know someone who used to work at a Morrisons Local and used to be driven mad by all the shoplifters stealing shit all day every day while the police did nothing.
Dusty_Miss_Havisham@reddit
Yes it is. I have worked for companies whose products are sold in retail and also for a company who sold security equipment to retailers, and the situation is horrific. I especially feel for small indies and convenience stores because that's their own money people are taking, and they can even get attacked and injured in the process. The police don't come when called, idk if it's bc of systemic racism or budget cuts or bec they're too busy arresting Reverend Sue for holding a sign, or a combo of all of the above.
The supermarkets ofc have dedicated teams to tackle it and seem to have deployed a combo of on-shelf deterrents and not caring anymore, my local Tesco doesn't even have a security guard anymore and the guy staffing the self checkouts told me he doesn't get paid enough to care so he turns a blind eye. I don't blame him we know the big supermarkets esp Tesco are wealthy beyond compare. But also they will build in "shrinkage" to pricing which is based on estimates so in theory they are also profiteering off it too
tiptreetimes@reddit
Two weeks ago I saw this happen in Asda. I live in Tiptree, Essex, a village famous for jam - not a crime hot spot or anything.
I was at the lottery counter. Two tall, young (late 20s I'd guess) guys walk out behind me with loaded trolleys and the alarm goes off. The woman working at the counter starts shouting for them to stop, and they run.
Another member of staff - young, around 5ft - comes out and starts yelling too. I (43f) ask the woman at the counter if that happens often and she said 'all the time.' I say they need security and she says that had a security guard but he was useless, so they got rid of him. I asked what the security is now then, and she pointed to herself. She was maybe mid-50s, maybe 5'5...I don't know what she (who is 'trapped' behind her counter) is meant to do in this situation, other than what she did, which was shout 'Oi! Stop!'
gettin-swole@reddit
I have to now deliver personal safety training in a number of retail outlets, that you would never think needed it. Along with a number of other places which I never imagined
Whoppa-seagull@reddit
I have read in several places that the police do not even consider burglary as serious. We were burgled & the police said they asked if anybody had seen anything door to door on our street, case closed. I suppose they have serious crime to deal with like motorists going 30mph in a 20mph area, those criminals really must be caught!!
Prologic87@reddit
Tbf I don't know what more you want. If you don't have cameras and nobody saw them then all they can do is record the details.
Its not case closed. Its just not going to go anywhere until something else happens.
I'd your stuff shows up later or if there are more burglaries in your area by the same criminals then it will start to add up and maybe they get caught, but for now what else should they do?
LordBoomDiddly@reddit
I saw 3 guys carry a boxed adult sized outdoor pool from Lidl through the front door.
The place now has opening barriers so you can't walk out of the entrance easily, but this item was big and you could see them coming down the aisle long before they got to the front door. Was totally obvious they weren't going to pay for it.
At least they dropped it in the car park trying to evade the security guard, but it was balsy to even try
StreamWave190@reddit
Yes.
Shoplifting hits record high in England and Wales
kiddj1@reddit
Highlight the low level crimes so all of the crimes that the politicians and big corporations take part in get ignored...
For example all the water companies dumping waste.. gone awfully quiet
lardarz@reddit
About 20 years ago I used to run a shop (national entertainment retailer) with a £3.5m turnover. We'd usually lose approx £70k a year to theft, even with 2 security guards, tags, cctv, shopping centre security and police that actually took action. Now they just don't.
No_Story5313@reddit
Relative works in H&M in Bradford. For them, it's constant.
AuramiteEX@reddit
Absolutely yes. I've literally seen it myself on multiple occasions
another_awkward_brit@reddit
Shoplifting has been an issue for decades. I used to work retail, and stock loss, for two different companies years ago. We were always told that staff intervention (simply by being present & saying hello etc, NOT tackling offenders) had a significant impact on opportunistic & non organised thefts. Given how much staffing has been pared back, I can see why losses have increased so much.
aqueousinnocence@reddit
Absolutely. It has been for years. I worked in retail 7 years ago and it was rife then, so god knows how much worse it’s gotten
slimboyslim9@reddit
My lived experience is the opposite of other comments. Live in a fairly large urban centre, do a big shop every weekend and small ‘express’ shops to top up a couple of times a week and never witnessed shoplifting.
Couple of times I see security questioning people in the door of the big shop, so ‘not being stopped or challenged’ is not my personal experience either.
matomo23@reddit
It does depend on the area, but in some areas absolutely.
I won’t say where I am (as people will just say they don’t believe me) but round here the Tesco Express and Sainsbury’s Local doesn’t even have a security guard, let alone anti-theft shelving. The big Tesco here does have a security guard but again doesn’t have any anti-theft shelving.
If I go to London both are in nearly every branch now.
tmr89@reddit
Yup, I see it every other time I go shopping
CCalamity-@reddit
I think it's a bit of both.
We all know at this point that unless the security is particularly fussed, it's not worth all the personal risks of trying to stop someone.
Also, CoL prices are ridiculous, people need to eat and chain supermarkets make so much profit. So if I happened to see someone steal the basics or baby food, no I didn't. A trolley full of steaks, wine etc. would be a different story, but I've never seen that one happening.
AreaTraditional8943@reddit
It is rife I work for one of the big 3 supermarkets and we get it all the time, the worse thing is all of them hide out in a block of apartments across the road from the shop
WalkerJoggerSprinter@reddit
Sometimes it isn't obvious as the shoplifters know they don't have to make a big deal of it, even if they are seen. They can just casually walk in and walk out again without drawing the attention of the average shopper.
EagleSevenFoxThree@reddit
Absolutely. When I worked in a department store (admittedly 20 years ago) any area that you couldn't see easily from the tills would have the alarm stickers ripped off and shoved into hiding places. I can't imagine it's got better since then.
People will openly walk in, take stuff and walk out knowing that security aren't really able to do much. I can't imagine supermarkets putting meat and things like that in cases unless it was actually a problem - why would they bother spending the money otherwise?
Adventurous-Idea1473@reddit
yeah i watched someone walk into my local Co-OP, shouting and ranting, fill up a bag and leave within plain view of staff and a security guard. i felt like a bit of a mug actually paying for my things given how easy it apparently is and Co ops high prices lol.
No-Maintenance-340@reddit
I had a family member work in a supermarket and it was quite common but with the same people who were known to police stealing hundreds in meat and wine primarily.
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