One among London’s most well-known excessive streets have tried a brand new technique to cease shoplifting from their shops.
The Strand within the West Finish of town has seen an uptick in shoplifting, prompting retailers to enact a ‘locked door’ coverage to any extent further.
Indicators warning customers to attend to be let in have been put up on doorways, with one studying: ‘Please knock and a member of employees might be with you shortly.’
Shoplifting incidents have risen 20% year-on-year to 2024, reaching the very best stage since data started, in line with official figures.
A supply informed The Solar: ‘The Strand is one in every of London’s busiest buying streets and it’s stunning that retailer managers are having to introduce this last-resort measure.’
There have been 530,643 reported shoplifting offences within the 12 months to March, a 20% enhance on 2024, the Workplace for Nationwide Statistics (ONS) stated.
In London, retailers are sometimes helpless in terms of addressing the most important challenge.
Violence and intimidation of staff can be of giant concern to teams representing retail and safety staff.
The rising price of residing has been broadly cited as the important thing cause fuelling the surge in retail crime, with analysis exhibiting a hyperlink between deprivation and the hardest-hit areas nationally.
Counter-measures taken by retailers embrace changing merchandise on cabinets with dummy merchandise or label tags, investing in higher CCTV, hiring safety guards and physique cameras for workers.
Final 12 months, a community of shoplifters managed to steal a minimum of £73,000 value of champagne from British retailers earlier than trafficking it overseas.
The group put on Bluetooth headsets to speak whereas committing the thievery within the ‘mafia-style’ operation.
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Emmeline Taylor, Professor of Criminology at Metropolis St George’s College of London, beforehand informed Metro: ‘Criminals are simply very fast to adapt, and that units them aside when it comes to how skilled they’re.
‘They’re approaching this as a enterprise, somewhat than being simply opportunistic.’
Professor Taylor stated the epidemic has triggered some larger chains to say they could shut out of concern for not working safely.
By her evaluation, she estimates that lower than 3% of shoplifting offences are reported to the police. Of these, over half are closed with no suspects recognized.
‘Whenever you put these two figures collectively, you may fairly confidently say theft has been decriminalised within the UK,’ she added.
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