Leading Scottish retailer and former Scottish Grocers’ Federation President, Dan Brown, has called for tougher penalties on shoplifters after facing multiple knife threats and sustained losses due to retail crime.
Brown, who owns Pinkie Farm convenience store in Musselburgh, revealed his store is currently experiencing up to ten thefts a day, resulting in tens of thousands of pounds in annual losses.
He recounted several violent incidents, including two occasions in 2023 where he was threatened with a knife by shoplifters and another where he was physically assaulted.
Recent incidents include a thief calmly walking out with £250 worth of food in a trolley, and others loading up holdalls before exiting the store without hesitation.
Most of the offenders, Brown says, are repeat criminals, often linked to drug addiction and, increasingly, organised crime.
In one alarming case, a shoplifter who had just been convicted at Edinburgh Sheriff Court for assaulting Brown returned to his store later the same day to steal again.
Dan told Daily Record, "Thefts are becoming more threatening and violent. We do not want to put out staff in harms way. Most businesses now have a don't approach rule.
"The problem is that the shoplifters expect to walk in and walk out with stuff completely unchallenged. The larger value thefts are fuelled by organised crime and addiction.
"These people can be quite dangerous."
Brown also has the latest instore CCTV technology which warns shoplifters and sends images straight to his phone but it's not deterring the thieves, he said.
"As a retailer I am getting more and more and more concerned about my safety and my staff's safety. A lot are repeat offenders who are stealing multiple times a day form various shops including mine. It gets to the point where you get quite disheartened.
"There is no real deterrent for these shoplifters. Until there are significant punishments for shoplifting it it is only going to get worse.
"We are seeing a significant rise in thefts and they are becoming increasingly violent and more aggressive. There are more instances each day where we feel our lives are in danger."
Scotland is currently witnessing its highest levels of shoplifting in over five decades, with the cost of living crisis, addiction, and organised theft rings cited as key drivers.
A separate report from Police Scotland released on Monday (June 23) revealed a spike in shoplifting between July and September last year when there were 22,806 cases up more than 18 percent on the same period the previous year.
The report by Chief Constable Jo Farrell said, "The key drivers in this rise were identified as cost of living serious organised crime, changes in retail environment peer pressure, addiction and assaults of retail workers."
