Spike in shoplifting reported in Middlesbrough amid cost-of-living crisis

Teesside is seeing a spike in shoplifting with store owners reporting even pensioners, young mothers and children resorting to picking stuff.

According to Northern Echo, retailer Bay Bashir, who runs a string of convenience stores across Middlesbrough, said he has been falling victim to thefts almost every single day. He also said that he is nowadays seeing “every kind” of person resorting to stealing from his shop. 

“Just this week, we’ve caught a mother filling her buggy up with food, using their child as cover. There’s no stereotype anymore, we’re seeing every kind of person stealing, from school kids to 60-year-olds filling their baskets and walking out, it’s not just those who need drugs.

“People are becoming more desperate and the impact is significant for us. We used to see people stealing a can of lager at a time, but now it’s a full basket. I have five shops and we see shoplifters every day, if there’s a day when there isn’t a shoplifter, it’s only because we didn’t catch them,” the report quoted Bashir as saying.

Bashir also said that apart from shoplifting, armed robbery is also on the rise in the area, with he himself being a recent victim. He also claimed that police figures fail to reflect the true scale of the problem, because, he says, many incidents go unreported. 

Shoplifting rates in the region fell significantly during the pandemic but rose again last year. There are nearly 400 shoplifting offences every week that were recorded in the region during 2021-22 – among more than 130,000 logged by North East forces in just five years. 

Nationally, the latest police recorded crime statistics released last month also showed a 21 per cent increase in shoplifting over the previous year, in the 12 months to March 2022, 

Reacting to the statistics, Paddy Lillis, Usdaw General Secretary said at the time that shoplifting is not a victimless crime as theft from shops has long been a major flashpoint for violence and abuse against shop workers.