Are shoplifters pretty much allowed to do as they please now?

[Easipeelerie]

In the last year, I’ve come across shoplifters frequently. I’ve mainly seen them operating in clothes shops and supermarkets. I was in a big clothes shop the other day and it was quiet so some staff were just chatting. Meanwhile, I was watching a woman with a system where she had a plastic bag hanging on a hook nearby and a big shoulderbag. She was filling the plastic bag with belts, I presume so that if she was challenged, she could say it wasn’t her bag. She then decanted to her shoulder bag and sped off. I told security the next day as they weren’t there that day - a shop in a big shopping centre with multiple entrances and no security on any of them.

The issue seems to me that often security are just not there. If they’re on a break or off for the day, there’s no one to replace them. When I’ve told security and shop staff what I’ve seen, they tell me they’re not allowed to challenge them. It makes me anxious shopping as I’m aware of what the shoplifters are doing whilst no one else around seems to know or care.

Do shops nowadays just build loss from shoplifting into their business plans?

It's awful what they're doing, but some must be caught because people do get convicted for shoplifting. Maybe they are watched on cameras and the evidence handed to the police rather than security risk getting into a fight with them? I don't know.

It does seem a bit over the top to get anxious when shopping because of it though.

I had my car broken into, handbag stolen, they used my cards, stole my phone, my ID, my Apple Watch,

Police said if they ever caught then they’d just give them a caution.

They don’t care.

I saw a couple going round Tesco with the self scan. Not scanning loads of items meats etc.
Staff were watching too. The went through to pay . It was over flowing the trolley £67 . They had more than that In meat easily.
I spoke to the staff member and she said unless the till prompted to check then they can't query it..
There was 1 guard but not at the cctv station

I said what would happen if it prompted a check of items. She said 9/10 they just run. Then staff have to put everything back.

It’s not an anxiety about feeling in danger, more a feeling of powerlessness that I can watch the process of something bad happening and can’t do anything about it.

I was a posh supermarket in London watching someone piling as many Moët champagnes as she could into a basket then into her giant old plastic bag and zooming out. When the security guard came off his break he told me the person I’d described was banned from the shop. But that’s meaningless if they feel they can steal with impunity.

I don't know why technology can't be utilised to deal with this. Perhaps they could only allow people into shops if they identify themselves and then have cameras everywhere like in the Amazon stores so that you'd be seen and charged for anything you take. I suppose people would complain about privacy and what not.

I saw this in Sainsbury's recently, I was worried I was gonna get shanked for noticing

Just going on Vinted makes it clear that people are shoplifting massive amounts. Try searching for Nike socks. No one has ever bought and then needed to sell that number of Nike socks.

I dunno... if people are desperate enough to shoplift I'd just stay out of it. Why dies it affect you so much?
I had a friend as a teen who got into drugs and shoplifted to feed that.. she ended up doing jail time and her life has been extremely hard.
I wouldn't swap places just to save the money on a bag of belts!
It's the responsibility of these stores. They make enough money to have proper security.

And tbh I don't think it is how you say it is. Only 5 mins ago on mumsnet I was reading a thread about someone getting angry over how intense security in various stores they had tried to shop in had been!

So clearly people are having the exact opposite experience too...

Personally I don't think it's my business either way. If there's lots of security it doesn't anger me because they are just doing their job well..
And if there isn't and I see people shoplifting I don't feel personal anger about it.. I just feel sorry for whatever life those people are having to live.

In Europe you can't get through the exit gates/ turnstiles without scanning your receipt. That would at least slow them down a bit.

In some retailers in some parts of (continental) Europe. Not in any I've ever been to.

My local Sainsbury's does this and I've only been there once since it was introduced.

We have this in our local Sainsburys. And nope you just push through and they open (have had to do it myself several times as half the time the receipts aren't scanning and there are no staff to let the us out... )

Why are you talking to multiple shop staff about this? Ignore it and go on with your day. You’re letting it upset you unnecessarily.

I work in a busy retail shopping centre, lots of shoplifting. The staff are not allowed but also don't want to confront shoplifters. We do have security but they don't tend to stay in the job long and I don't blame them, they get so much abuse for a job that's poorly paid. Sometimes the police recognise them when they watch the cctv back though I think even then it's not seen as a serious crime.

I dunno... if people are desperate enough to shoplift I'd just stay out of it. Why dies it affect you so much?
Someone stealing Moet is probably not desperate.
And it impacts us all because the shop takes a loss, which is then recouped by charging the rest of us higher prices.

Lack of police is a massive issue. In the area where I live (10 miles by 10 miles approx, population of maybe 100k inc a sizeable town) we're lucky if we have 3 cops on duty. The entire county has perhaps 3 traffic units... If you shoplift, the chance of being caught is about zero, staff won't stop you because it could be dangerous, and there is no point in them calling the police.

Yip. I've seen it numerous times in my old supermarket job.
Shoplifter fills big blue IKEA bag with sirloin steaks, chocolate, 2 litre bottles of cider, bottles of wine, coffee, big blocks of cheese, baby milk and toiletries.
Staff challenge them, shoplifter swears at them and barges past and out the door.
Staff call police who daunder in 3 days later to pick up cctv of the incident.
Bugger all happens.
Stolen items sold round the pubs.
Often things are stolen to order.
And on it goes.
Shoplifter fills big blue IKEA bag......

I was in a mini supermarket the other evening and a group of lads came in, threatened the one staff member on the till, grabbed a load of whatever they wanted and left - a woman near me called the police and after they’d left we went to the till to check the member of staff was ok.

He spoke to the police but said it happens regularly, the shoplifters know there’s no security, and it’s not worth his (or anyone else’s) time or safety to actually try and stop them, by the time the police arrive (if they ever do) it’s too late and there’s nothing they can actually do.

Just awful :(

A friend works in Tesco and she has been told not to challenge people unless they steal over £250 worth, and not to approach people but call the police. Even then the police don’t turn up for hours/if at all, and don’t do anything anyway.
supermarkets still seem to be making huge profits so the cost is obviously passed on to the honest customers in the form of price increases.

Shop staff aren’t paid or trained to deal with this. The police don’t care. It’s terrible

Very intimidating for the non shoplifter... you re aware you re in the way of potentially violent organised crime. It is staggering to see how both shop assistants and security are turning a blind eye to it ... both my local Sainsbury s and B and M have told me ' Sorry, nothing we can do ... we re told not to in case of knives'.... So it s not just adding to prices we pay, it s actually making shopping less safe.

Yes, they can basically fill their boots. The police aren't interested, and therefore the security guards can't do much.

Probably stealing to sell not to drink.
Agree with your other points though.

Our local shop is constantly targeted. They just brazenly walk in and grab coffee, booze or whatever then walk out. If staff challenge them they start throwing items at them. The police never come out. They also didn't come when several of us reported that a shoplifter was selling the stuff she stole door to door on our street. They did manage to get 2 police officers to do speed checks on the main road though

Shoplifting is rife where I live.They even sell their stuff at a bus stop right outside the supermarket.We do not wonder why the prices are rising daily.
In the city centre a lot of the big department stores have closed their many alternate entrances and exits, so there is only one door open.It still goes on.

Of course they can. What deterrent is there? Prisoners are being released from prison under Labour so it’s unlikely they’ll get any form of punishment.
It is only get worse sadly.