EGGSTRAORDINARY
I used to own and run a convenience store in Swansea. One of my duties was to ensure shoplifting was kept to a minimum. We were already operating at a low profit, and thefts from our store would jeopardise our very existence. My sister, who went to run the store, used to follow known shoplifters around the store. One Christmas I confronted a thief stealing a case of beer and I ended up with a black eye as the yob decided to hit me. I called the police and the thief was convicted of his crime. In recent times the incidents of theft have turned into an epidemic.
I used to live by the London Eye and I would regularly see thieves stealing meat from my local Marks and Spencer. The manager at the time was all over it, and I saw him more than once bravely confront thieves as they attempted to leave the store laden with stolen high priced food. I alerted staff to one incident which led to them approaching the would be thief who eventually left the store empty handed. On another occasion I alerted a security guard to one would be shoplifter who I saw eventually leave the store only to see him take stolen goods from his pocket and place them in a bag.
Official figures for shoplifting are over 500,000 incidents a year, but I'm afraid these figures would appear to be way far of the mark as many stores don't even both to phone the police as they know they will not turn up. I suspect the real figure is in the high millions with losses to the retail industry being into the billions. This is nothing less than a crisis for the retail industry.
The recent story which has angered many shoppers is of the Waitrose employee who confronted a known thief and managed to wrestle back the booty of stolen Easter eggs only to be dismissed from the store for not following company policy. Company policy appears to be to not confront the thief and watch as £50 to £100 of goods goes through the door and not the tills.
The sight of security staff in supermarkets is now the norm and the boss of Iceland has called for security staff to be able to carry truncheons and pepper spray just to better protect themselves. It is a sad truth that increasingly these thieves are increasingly aggressive and some I have seen are acting as if they are high on drugs. These people do not guard themselves as they steal but they operate in broad daylight and basically dare anyone to try and stop them. Sadly too many staff receive injuries from the brazen thieves.
Over burdened police forces do not prioritise this crime and in too many cases they fail to properly respond to reports of theft. It did appear for a time that the police were more focussed on people tweeting rather than stealing but most folk know where their priorities should lie.
The Government now need to take this scourge of society seriously and get on the side of the retailers and honest customers. The cost of the stolen goods will be borne in higher prices for the rest of us. Whilst waiting for new technology answers to shoplifting retailers and Government must act together to drastically reduce the incidences of theft. Retailers sending out a signal that they will not intervene to prevent theft will only lead to a greater spiral of stealing. The appalling feral scenes in Clapham recently, where gangs of youths went on the rampage in shops, were extraordinary and thankfully rare, but without serious responses these events will become common place.
Turning a blind eye to shop theft is not a policy that is right or sustainable. Effective policing followed by exemplary sentencing must be the much needed deterrence to the plague in our midst. The bad publicity brought upon Waitrose has only highlighted how dreadful is the situation and how ill prepared is the response. A more professional approach is needed from all quarters including shops having properly trained security store staff with the protection of the law, and support from their employers. The police need to be adept and nimble in arresting thieves and the court system flexible in speedily convicting the thieves.
There is no silver bullet to eradicating store theft, but replacing the tills with an honesty box is no solution. A rethink is called for before the shelves are bare and the tills empty. Stores will surely close and the real victims, the honest customer, will end up paying the price, one way or another.
Nigel Evans
6th April 2026