Recession causes Shoplifting and Thefts to surged to record levels in the UK

[Pastor Dale Morgan]

*Perilous Times

Recession causes Shoplifting and Thefts to surged to record levels in
the UK*


BBC - Shoplifting and thefts have surged to record levels in the UK,
fuelled by the recession, according to a study.

The value of retail goods stolen rose 20% to £4.88 billion in the year
to June, the Centre for Retail Research said.

The UK had the highest amount in value of shoplifted goods in Europe and
was third behind the US and Japan globally, data from 1,069 retailers
suggests.

Checkpoint Systems, which commissioned the report, said there had been a
rise in "middle-class" shoplifters.

It said more people were now stealing goods simply to maintain their
standard of living rather than to sell them on.

Checkpoint Systems vice-president Neil Matthews added: "This is
epitomised in the recent uprising of the middle-class shoplifter,
someone who has turned to theft to sustain their standard of living.

"This is driving theft of items such as cosmetics, perfumes and face
creams, alcohol, fresh meat, mobile phones, computer games and DVDs, as
well as small electrical goods like cameras, iPods and personal care
gadgets."

Global retail theft figures, UK losses and favourite goods stolen

The Global Retail Theft Barometer 2009 is based on data from a
confidential survey of 1,069 large retailers with combined sales of £514bn.

It reports key findings on retail shrinkage and crime in 41 countries on
five continents based on that data.

The survey also suggests that while theft by organised gangs and
opportunistic shoplifters is on the up, employee theft is also increasing.

According to the report, employee shoplifters are the most prolific,
accounting for an average loss of £1,595.66 per incident in the UK,
compared with £80.31 for "external" thefts.

Theft surge

According to the study, the UK ranked second worst - behind the Irish
Republic - in Europe in the employee theft stakes, with 36.4% of all
loss down to staff.

"The UK's retail industry has seen its largest ever increase in
shoplifting over the last 12 months, and it comes at a time when the
industry can least afford it," Mr Matthews said.


FIVE COUNTRIES WORST HIT BY SHOPLIFTING*
1) US - £26.4bn
2) Japan - £6.031bn
3) UK - £4.886bn
4) Germany - £4.444bn
5) France - £4.203bn
*Source Centre for Retail Research, Nottingham

"Retailers simply cannot afford to ignore this problem, it is not going
to go away and is the equivalent of criminals taxing every UK household
£227 per year."

As a result, over the past year UK retailers invested an estimated £926m
in security measures to combat theft including paying for security
staff, electronic tags and CCTV.

In Europe, Portugal was least affected by shoplifting, losing £294m
during the year.

Worldwide, the US was worst affected, losing £26.4bn a year, while
second placed Japan lost £6.03bn.