Shoplifting

[Goodwitch9]

My local petrol station is also a little M&S Simply Food. The family who run it are lovely and were telling me today they are getting more and more shoplifting. My question is, who is out of pocket when something get nicked, the little shop or M&S? Does anyone know?

Everybody, because we all pay for shoplifting with higher prices.

Yes I know. Can anyone answer my question more specifically please?

Each bit will do a stocktake now and again so they work it out from that.
Anything not recorded as sold, returned or damaged is calculated as shrinkage which is anything shoplifted or loss that's unknown.

Not those people personally if that’s what you are worried about.

Although on the Stacey Dooley documentary, when she was at Superdrug the staff said that they got the ‘blame’ for not stopping shoplifting.

Btw most theft isn't someone running out the door with a handful of goodies, most of it gets slipped into pockets, buggies and bags, tickets get switched and some staff help themselves to items/loyalty points.
Doing a stocktake is the only way to find out how much is disappearing and from which department.

Thanks everyone, I think they saw someone pocketing some stuff but they were short-staffed so couldn't do anything about it.

Staff is shops can’t confront shoplifters all of the time, it’s not a safe thing to do.

Even though only a small proportion get caught and end up in the courts, we need to have different sanctions/punishments than a fine. Make it more difficult to steal in future- a simple one for petrol station theft would be a lengthy driving ban. Or no passport so no foreign travel for several years.

We do have more punishments than a fine.

Shoplifters regularly get:-
Fine
Conditional discharge
Drug rehabilitation order
Alcohol rehabilitation order
Alcohol tag
Community order with rehabilitation
Unpaid work
Curfew - occasional
Banned from the shops they stole from
In extreme cases GPS tagging
Suspended sentences
Prison - persistent offenders
Driving bans are rare, but possible when a vehicle is used to commit a crime

Problem is if you are a drug addict desperate for drugs, have an abusive partner or in debt to a dealer threatening physical violence then nothing is going to be a big enough deterrent. Some even shoplift with the intention of being sent to prison because it's easier to get clean in there than to get residential alcohol or drugs rehab. Not unknown for the defendant being sent down to the cells for their custodial sentence to shout obscenities at the judge for not making the sentence long enough for them to get clean. And this government wants to abolish short sentences...

Stopwatch schemes tend to work reasonably well, but rely on shops following through with prosecution and not all do, especially bigger stores who have shop theft built into their sales figures and, in some cases, actually discipline staff for approaching offenders.

When I was a store manager back in the 80s we could be sacked after a bad audit.

Stocks outside shopping centres would work.

The local operator (the family running the petrol station and shop) is generally out of pocket for the stolen goods. Here's why, based on how these models typically work:

The family/independent operator runs the day-to-day business: they staff the shop, manage operations, handle security, and deal with stock on site.

M&S supplies the branded Simply Food range (and branding/support), but the physical stock in the store is effectively managed under the partnership. Losses from shrinkage (theft, damage, waste, etc.) usually hit the operator's bottom line, as they bear the operational risks and costs of running the unit.

This is standard in most UK retail franchise/partnership models for convenience/forecourt stores (similar to how many supermarket "local" or "express" concessions work). M&S doesn't absorb everyday theft losses from partner sites — that would be unsustainable for them.

It's a franchise, so it will be them that's hit, not M&S.

I noticed in France and Italy you can't leave the shop without scanning your receipt. This is starting to be rolled out in some stores in the UK. But the gates need to be strong and fire safety needs to be considered. I would worry that some of these people might have weapons. Most of them are professionals and are stealing stuff to sell.