Almost 700,000 people shoplift from British retailers each year, according to a survey, commissioned by G4S Security Services (UK).
It suggests that 3.4 million people have shoplifted over the last five years, stealing on average £105 of goods per person. The guard firm estimates that each year customers steal more than £13m of goods from retailers.
According to the research, 24 per cent of adults believe that it is easiest to shoplift from an independent retailer, such as a newsagent, compared to five per cent who thought high street chains were the easiest. Supermarkets are still regarded as a soft touch by 21pc of people, while 9pc of respondents rated garden and DIY centres as the easiest sites for shoplifting. Out of town retail parks are regarded as the hardest places from which to shoplift (2pc).
What they say
Douglas Greenwell, Marketing Director, of G4S Security Services (UK) said: “These figures show that shoplifting remains a significant problem for retailers. Retailers need to review their security procedures, take proactive steps to discourage this activity and make the appropriate investment in security. We need to reaffirm to the public that shoplifting is a serious criminal activity and once prosecuted offenders can expect to receive significant fines or jail sentences. Although the most commonly stolen items are razor blades, our research reveals that on average the value of the single most expensive item that people have stolen is worth £35, while 5pc of people have stolen items worth more than £50. Uniformed security officers not only provide a valuable deterrent, but they are able to adapt to changing threats more effectively than electronic solutions.”
Regions
Regionally over 1.2 million people living in the South of England have shoplifted during the past five years compared to 1.9 million in the North and just 998,000 in the Midlands. However, people living in the North are the most likely to take something intentionally (202,000) compared to just 82,000 Southerners. But Northerners are also the most likely to return an item to the shop once they realised that they had taken it.
