I knew shop lifting was a problem but I didn't imagine it was like this..

[SunShow]

DS is working in a Tesco Express. He personally makes around 8 shop lifting reports every day. Obviously these are just the one he sees.

I imagined that shoplifting was kids/teens stealing a chocolate bar or desperate people stealing food and that does happen, but most of it is much larger scale. Yesterday he had people arrive with rucksacks and literally sweep the contents of a shelf into their bags.

Staff are taught not to confront them (good as far as his mother is concerned!) and police take no action even when there is good CCTV.

This is a small supermarket in the nicer bit of a perfectly pleasant suburban town.

True but the business would have to pay for that. A flyer is instant and visual and is kept handy for all staff to reference rather than having to log on.

I care ! But tbf don't work in a shop so not alot I can do about it. Small shops must really struggle if they are targeted.

I get the TIC, but please be careful, my DH has just had to claim Pip after 3 long years of a trickle of sick pay.

He's no skiver, but no one seems to know what's wrong with him. Last thing he needs is someone making derogatory comments about Pip. Fortunately won't read this

Exactly it's embarrassing people banging on about flat screens TV as though they are a new thing I remember my nearly 19 smashing the screen of a first one when he was a toddler ,with his in the night garden watering can.

No i think it's you...

I’ve seen this method used in China. Lots of security at the exits of really big stores eg Costco where burly security guys wait whilst the usually petite ‘check’ ladies ask to see every receipt. They will randomly pick a few items and see if they are on the receipt.
Difference is they make it known they care and will act upon it.

The shops let it go. I have been reliably told because of the insurance premiums..
If they start having lots of police events, It’s logged and there’s a paper trail.
The staff can’t deal with it really because if there’s an incident and an assault again, Insurance goes through the roof.

So it’s down to the Council’s and the private security businesses.

Well that’s not going to happen!! Hard labour??

Well that’s not going to happen!! Hard labour??

Why not?

It's as if the fantastic idea to reduce the cost and numbers of (largely women, largely with caring responsibilities) checkout operators in favour of self scan and one, maybe two people on the shop floor at most instead of 10-15 in your average store has had a consequence for the supermarkets.

Who’s going to pay for it, for starters?

It will pay for itself.

Maybe caught shoplifters - instead of prison - should have to work in retail.
They should wear a tag that gives them an extreme electric shock if they attempt to leave the shop.
If they aren't polite and smiling to customers ridiculous comments and demands they get another electric shock.
⚡⚡⚡
They won't get paid which means there's more staff in the shop which is better and safer but isn't costing the retailers anything.

What would happen to people who are already working in retail?

They will still have their jobs.
They might actually get chance to do the job required of them rather than attempting to do 4 things at once (while also watching out for shoplifters 😂).

prison is just like university for criminals. They go in there if they don’t drink and smoke and have a drug habit when they go in they definitely do when they come out.
They would go in with a shoplifting habit and come out having progressed to armed robbery

As always honesty doesn't seem to pay.

Maybe if you check in and check out of a shop with a credit card, it would stop the randoms just coming in. The shops will probably say it's too expensive but just look at how the Amazon supermarkets work.

You literally can't get out of the shop and there's a barrier like getting out of the tube. Of course they can vault the barrier but thieves are mainly opportunists who want an easy life.

We are actually encouraged to log it, share CCTV with the security teams etc. we are questioned if our stock loss is high but not many incidents logged, so I guess it depends on the business.

how do you know this?

and as for ‘hard labour’…what exactly does that look like in mumsnet world?

Argos is now in Sainsbury’s that has a Sainsbury’s only receipt exit and one other way out next to customer services

if I do click and collect from Argos and try and use this exit I get stopped by at least one security guard to check my big Argos stickers and purchases

twice during my checks I’ve seen shoplifters with all the goods just push open the entry only gates and not been stopped or even given a second look at by security

That’s going to work well for elderly people or vulnerable people that can’t shop like that. It’s also going to further isolate everyone. No, what shops need to do is have proper security, get rid of self service tills, and the police need to start prosecuting shoplifters. Focusing on the ones outlined in this thread that are obviously doing it professionally. Not get rid of shops so that we all suffer.

I saw a worker in Tesco stock a fridge full of steak. He went into the back to get other things and in the meantime an obvious drug addict came in and completely cleared it all into her tote bag and just walked out. I say her outside through the window showing her dealer what she had to trade. The worker came back and looked completely confused … I pointed at her and told him she’d taken it all. He screamed at me ‘why didn’t you stop her????’ 😂