Steaks and cheese are being fitted with security tags while coffee jars are being replaced with dummy ones, stated recent reports as stores continue to face elevated levels of shoplifting.
Some stores like Marks and Spencer are also limiting the number of items on shelves in an attempt to reduce theft. The retailer’s move was brought in picture by a social media user who tweeted to reveal how the store is displaying lesser cut steaks on the shelf to combat shoplifting.
Popped into M&S to buy steaks & they only had 3 packs of different cuts.
I said to the worker 'You've been busy' & she said they only display 3 different packs at one time as thieves clear the shelves in one swoop & do a runner.
You have to ask staff for more packs.
I'm shocked. pic.twitter.com/27Ri0YbMkS— Lorraine King (@lorrainemking) May 28, 2023
M&S has confirmed to The Mirror that the measure is not a widespread policy and said it would be looking into the store in question.
The spokesperson said customers can should always be able to buy the products they want in M&S stores.
Meanwhile, Co-op reportedly has started putting empty coffee jars on shelves in a bid to stop shoplifters – after prices rocketed to more than £10. In Birmingham, the GPS tracking cases were spotted on shelves at the Co-op food and petrol shop at Harborne in Birmingham.
Another user said they had seen Co-Op display empty shower gel bottles. Many believe the rise in security measures such as this must be down to the cost of living crisis as people are turning to desperate measures to keep going.
A Co-op spokesperson told the BBC that these are not nationwide policies at their stores.
“Protecting the safety of our colleagues is a priority and we know shoplifting can be a flashpoint for violence against shop workers so whilst this is not a nationwide policy, a decision to implement product security measures at a local level can be made, if a store is experiencing a particular issue,” the spokesperson said.
cost of living reaching new heights, my local co-op is now a grocery show room. also ft periodic tannoy announcements from mitie security that their cameras are watching you. bleak af pic.twitter.com/C8u7n7zBMf
— laura (@laura_estah) May 28, 2023
The reports come as data analysed by the BBC showed shoplifting offences had now returned to pre-pandemic levels as the cost of living rises. In March, police forces in England, Wales and Northern Ireland recorded nearly 33,000 incidents of shoplifting, which in turn is a significant 30.9 per cent increase compared with March last year.
According to police data, certain regions saw even more pronounced spikes in shoplifting in March.
Gwent Police – responsible for overseeing Blaenau Gwent, Caerphilly, Monmouthshire, Newport and Torfaen in Wales – reported the sharpest rise, with instances of shoplifting surging to 961 between January and March, up from 552 in the same period last year.
Meanwhile forces in Northumbria, Staffordshire and Hampshire saw shoplifting rates soar by more than 50 per cent.
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