One shoplifter strikes every minute on high street, leaving billion-pound bill

THE global recession has fuelled shoplifting in the UK over the past year, a new report has claimed, with a retail theft committed almost every minute of the day.

The survey of crime in Britain's shops has shown that reported incidents of shoplifting last year rose by a third – while incidents of violence and abuse against staff doubled.

Thefts by customers soared during 2009 to 3,902 per 100 outlets, compared with 2,914 the previous year.

Research by the British Retail Consortium (BRC) found there were 498,405 thefts, leaving businesses with a 1.1 billion bill.

But officials suspect the true figure is far higher, potentially double, as many crimes are not reported.

Stephen Robertson, British Retail Consortium director-general, said: "The increase in retail crime during the recession can't be justified as a move from greed to need.

"Whatever the motivation, shoplifting is never victimless or acceptable. The cash costs are met by honest customers who end up paying more and the human costs by shop staff who intervene.

"It's shocking that a shop theft happens almost every minute, 24 hours a day. We need tougher sentencing to deter thieves and more consistent use of fixed-penalty notices between police forces. Too many fines for shoplifting remain unpaid. We need more effective enforcement so they aren't devalued as a deterrent."

He added that retailers were failing to report crime because they felt the police did not take it seriously.

The figures were revealed in a BRC survey of 60 major stores who employ 1.1 million staff and represent almost half the market.

Researchers found theft accounts for the biggest share of all retail crime, with more than nine out of 10 incidents. The survey also studied incidents of violence and abuse against shop staff, showing that they had doubled over 2008 figures.

Physical violence rose 58 per cent and verbal abuse 37 per cent. At least 22,000 retail employees suffer threats, physical or verbal attacks. Again, the BRC said the actual figure is probably much higher as a good deal of abuse goes unreported.

Mr Robertson said punishments for such offences had to be strong enough to be a deterrent: "The doubling in violence and abuse against retail staff is the biggest concern. It should never be regarded as part of the job. "

Reacting to the study, Colin Borland, of the Scottish Federation for Small Businesses, said that their members had experienced similar problems.

"Shoplifting is an extremely serious concern for smaller businesses and they have to have the confidence that if they report an incident to the police, it is going to be dealt with properly."

He said the rise in the rate of staff abuse was "horrifying", and something that had the potential to force small local shops to close if sustained for long periods.

John Hannett, general-secretary of shop workers' union Usdaw, said: "Violence against shop workers is not acceptable and we will do all we can to address this."