‘Some steal to order’: on the frontline of UK shoplifting epidemic
‘Some steal to order’: on the frontline of UK shoplifting epidemic
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As retailers record 55,000 thefts a day, we talk to a supermarket worker, a security guard and a shopkeeper about their jobs. UK retailers are warning that crime in their stores is “spiralling out of control” with 55,000 thefts a day and violent and abusive incidents rising by 50% last year to 2,000 a day.
![[Sarah Butler]](https://i.guim.co.uk/img/uploads/2022/11/09/Sarah_Butler_Next_Gen.png?width=75&dpr=1&s=none&crop=none)
What is it like to be on the frontline? We speak to a supermarket worker, a security guard and an independent shopkeeper. Shoplifters have become a bit more brazen about what they do and it is not just specific things. Quite a few don’t hide it as they know staff are not allowed to stop them and some stores don’t have security staff. They come in and just cut security tags off.
![[A bottle of wine is hidden away inside a leather jacket]](https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/cbb2f52d51791170a6f7c866c776ee6a253a1857/0_203_6016_3609/master/6016.jpg?width=445&dpr=1&s=none&crop=none)
Some have a list and steal to order. Christmas is the worst for that with things like Lego and Barbie. When I first started in stores shoplifting was just homeless people coming in for a sandwich or deodorant. Now there is no average shoplifter. It could be anybody. We have well-dressed women and men going through self-service or scan-to-shop and they might have not scanned half of it.
![[Yellow security tag on slab of butter]](https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/da649b39f79152fcb728587defb55c2eee05f378/0_213_5081_3050/master/5081.jpg?width=445&dpr=1&s=none&crop=none)
Over the years staff have been cut quite a bit so there is more opportunity for people to take stuff. Some stores have quite a lot of self-service tills and not a lot of staff to cover it. Some stores are told they have to give up a member of shopfloor staff if they want a security guard.
