Shop theft in Britain costs shops and small businesses over £300m a year*. As thieves get cleverer and more brazen shop owners are struggling to keep up and that’s why we’ve put together a guide to the common forms of shoplifting, the preventative measures and protections.
Hiding items out of sight
A thief will use an item such as a bag, pram or loose clothing to conceal an item. It is also common for a smaller item to be hidden (or swapped over) in the packaging of another item which is then legitimately paid for. Security tags can be an effective line of defence against this kind of crime but beware that metal lined bags can be used to circumnavigate an exit alarm system.
• Offenders will target and re-visit shops that have blind spots in them. Remove any opportunity by making sure there are no areas hidden from sight of the register, cameras, mirrors or the shop window.
Distracting the staff
Many thefts occur when a staff member will leave the shop floor or become distracted by a customer. Expect a request for something that is kept ‘out the back’, or a group of people to work together so one can distract the staff with a query while the other(s) perform the theft.
• A group of thieves or suspicious people will eventually become known in the area. By working with other local shops and the police, be sure to share information on anyone working or caught in your area.
Blatant theft
Walk out techniques involve simply picking up an item and casually leaving the shop. This works under the premise that, if not arousing suspicions, no alarm will be raised. Either this or grabbing and dashing out hoping to get a good enough head start on any attempt to chase.
• For smaller shops where security staff isn’t an option try using dummy displays, or empty boxes around the entrances. This means that thieves need to come further into the store discouraging this kind of attempt. It also helps you pen in areas of your store where shoplifters will be hiding items.
• This can be difficult to prove, especially if the thief has already brought an item – they can always claim they ‘accidentally’ forgot to pay. This is again where local information sharing will help you identify offenders.
Staff theft
Staff stealing cash is easier to spot but stealing stock can be harder to pinpoint. And if they are working with another person who ‘looks the other way’ while they shoplift in your store this can again be difficult to prove.
• The best course of action is always to nurture long-term trusted staff. Most people would not be interested in jeopardising a job they love. It’s always a risk though and CCTV across your store, including above the register and around the isles will help you notice spot collusion.
Price swapping
This is common in larger shops where stickers are used for pricing. A thief will swap the price tags or bar codes over for a cheaper item, on to a more expensive one.
• Display cabinets for more expensive items will mean that customers cannot access them without your assistance.
• Price tags which are not easily removed, either by tying, or printing on can solve this.
*source: https://www.businesscrime.org.uk/assets/files/BRC-2015-Crime-Survey.pdf
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