Shops are becoming quite scary

[ithinkilikethislittlelife]

I am starting to become quite nervous in shops, primarily shops that sell food stuffs. Just yesterday I saw two men go through a fire door in my local supermarket that takes them straight into the car park armed with baskets of stolen items. The one basket had steak/meats and the other looked like it was all bottles of vodka. The poor staff trying to wrestle the baskets back and stop the two men from leaving was quite upsetting to witness. This was yesterday. Saturday in my local co op a chap was loitering by the alcohol section while I was shopping. Getting into our car outside I noticed him sprinting past us clutching bottles of alcohol. Me and dh see it all the time now. It’s an epidemic. And it usually seems to be men. And I’m not having it that they are stealing milk for babies or bread for their children. I always see them take alcohol. I don’t know what the answer is but yesterday I was frightened for the staff member who intervened as the one chap raised a bottle of alcohol at her and she then backed off but I totally understood her rage at trying to stop the thieves taking from her place of work. I don’t want my children to witness these thieving people and I don’t want to feel anxious just trying to go about my day and buy food!

YANBU our town is full of thieves, and a lot of it is criminal gangs and families.

Idk about everywhere but where i live its nothing to do with cost of living, as a lot of the time the people who do the stealing are actually loaded (big cars, big houses, caravans, designer clothes...lets just say when they have a wedding or a funeral EVERYBODY knows about it).

My eldest twos high school have cracked down massively on kids selling chocolate and sweets (theyre stolen, and its a popular warmup to drug dealing)

I don't think it's even just high value stuff anymore as there was an item on the news the other night that some places are having to put chocolate in security cases because that's the new thing the shoplifters are going for.

Where I live we have a small local Sainsbury. The spirits, cigarettes and vapes have always been behind the counter. They still are. but now the cashier and those goods are totally enclosed by screens - and these screens are now fitted with bullet proof glass. What a world.

That takes away responsibility. Agree cost of living is an issue but stealing bottles and bottles of alcohol and being aggressive is not just down to that.

That’s nice for you.

My Sainsbury's Local has the same set up. And the staff have to wear body worn cameras too.

I was in our local Co-Op on Monday and noticed they'd finally to the big COVID screens down, I commented how nice it was and how open the till area looked- but the poor guy was gutted they'd gone as now they don't have a physical barrier to protect them.

I do feel for the staff and it's not nice to witness, but I wouldn't say it makes me nervous as it's not like it's going to do me any immediate harm. Obviously as people have said there are price impacts, but it's not like people have reason to fear physical harm from shoplifters. Just because people shoplift it doesn't mean they are violent criminals. I have seen people strolling out with armfuls of stuff a few times.

They should make it quicker and easier to prosecute these people- it isn't as if there won't be loads of quite clear video evidence.

Yes I agree to bringing down the cost of living, but to use it as a excuse to steal is disgusting.
We are all affected by cost of living in some way. It does not make me steal though. It's not the answer to thieving either.

I grew up poor on a council estate in a deprived city. My mum used to buy stuff cheap from the shoplifters at the pub. This was in the 00s. They used to sell all sorts from coffee through to paddling pools! They’d just brazenly walk out of the supermarket and only run if challenged by security. Absolutely nuts but there you go, it isn’t new.

😂

People steal in bulk to sell on and to order. Its been happening for decades. Your local coop has probably been identified as an easy target. They will likely up the security there and the theives will move onto a new hotspot

Yep, watched two people stuff bags with food and then run out in our local coop the other day. Staff shouted at them but could do no more.

Exactly. It’s pure criminality and we suffer as prices increase.

YADNBU I was in my local co op a couple of years ago , I had taken my my Mum out of her care home . She had dementia. Just as we were going in some men were coming out with alcohol and thumped the security guard in the face. I was so upset but luckily it went over Mums head. People just will not want to work in any public facing job unless we get a grip on this and as others have said we are all paying the cost of this . We need to become more vocal and more police needed to actually help security and staff when they need it.

Seen it multiple times in our local shops and yes it's awful. It makes me so angry I don't trust myself not to at least have a go verbally at them.

Why don't they have security guards? I don't live in the UK, but here every supermarket has a security chap, and it's all pretty chilled.

Well it is our money - kind of. Because they just put up the prices to absorb that loss. That cost gets passed on to us

For those saying it , it is not to do with the cost of living - you can eat reasonably ok to get by quite cheaply if things are tight -many of the arses doing this are going for booze or steaks etc , stuff they can flog quickly for cash . We aren’t talking usually nicking veg or Birds Eye beef burgers .

The drivers?

Some do. Mainly in places which are rougher.

Our local one doesn't atm. They had one for a while but not currently. They do have a someone who works on a Friday night out the back monitoring the CCTV constantly for trouble though which I hadn't realised.

I wouldn't be remotely surprised if a security guard is recruited in the near future due to the rising number of incidents. But even then the security guard cant actually DO anything apart from stand there as a useless pointless 'deterrent' who is ignored anyway just to make the other customers feel safer.

I agree OP. For the first time I'm seeing the shoplifting for drugs (not cost of living); aggressive beggars outside shops near cash machines, families walking around with the kids eating produce; smelly customers with no sense of personal space, and people arguing black is white at the self service tills but pleading "no English".

My adult grandson was assistant manager in a branch of a large supermarket. In a leafy suburb.

Every day a mob came in, masked, threatened the staff and cleared shelves. With knives.

My GS endlessly reported this - nothing.

One day he intervened as a female member of staff was in tears - my GS got slashed (luckily not stabbed) with a knife.

The police suggested he went to A&E but still didn’t follow up the CCTV.

Thankfully, my GS then went into non retail. 🤷‍♀️

Well... yes and no.

Petty crime rocketed in WW2, looting bombed residences and shops. It wasn't all painting gravy on your legs before dancing with a GI.

No one’s using it as an excuse. The link between poverty and crime rates is so well established.

it depends on whether you’re more interested in raging at what scum these people are, or actually stopping it happening.