In Britain, shop thefts have more than doubled in the past six years, reaching 8m in 2022. We spent a day talking to shopkeepers in Manchester, where raids on the shelves are a regular occurrence
But Chorlton has a less wholesome side that is best illustrated by its branch of Boots, tucked inside a dismal 70s precinct earmarked for demolition at the end of the year. Want some makeup? You will have to ask for it. Every lipstick, eyeliner, mascara, blusher – everything – is kept in the stockroom, out of public sight and reach. Why? “It keeps getting stolen,” shrugs a shop assistant. “We’ve not had it out for months now.
Lena Rowe at Progress convenience store. She posts supposedly incriminating images of thefts in the shop in the hope of deterring crime.Further down the road, Claire Liu, who runs a DIY and household store, has also been busy with her laminator. “THIEVES,” reads the sign in her window, above a photograph of a man with glasses and gelled hair and the message: “How pathetic to steal a pod of fish food worth £1.49. I hope your fishes are all doing well.
There is a weariness to him as he sees who has been led into the dock of court 16 just after lunch. The bearded man behind the bulletproof glass appears ragged in his prison-issue grey tracksuit, as if he has just woken up. Her tale is typically miserable. She steals not just to buy booze, but also to clear her “considerable debts”, her solicitor tells the court, racked up partly as a result of having to payon her council flat. She was recently evicted and is now sofa surfing with a friend. Begley decides to give her one more chance, releasing her on the condition that she doesn’t darken the door of any Morrisons in the country.
Back in Chorlton, the manager of Quality Save, a low-price convenience store next to Boots, is fighting a losing battle against an ever-more-brazen band of shoplifters. “They’re in and out all day, every day, and it’s definitely got worse since Covid,” says the manager with a sigh, her eyes darting down the aisles. The day before, she caught four – an average tally.
The saddest group, the newest cohort, are the “regular” shoppers who simply can’t afford everything they need: “They’re the ones who only put half their goods in their basket and hide the rest in their coats or bags.” They are mortified to be caught, telling staff they can’t make ends meet. The manager insists their number is rising, contrary to the views of the retail experts. She recalls an “older gentleman” who was rumbled the week before for stealing coffee.
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