Shoplifting in Kent at record high

Store owners worry for their businesses, as shoplifting offences in Kent increase.  Mahima Abedin reports.

Transcript

00:00Kent's high streets are facing an unwanted fight with shoplifting offences.

00:04It's the highest it's been in seven years.

00:07And it's retailers like Flooring and Fabrics Make a Home in Gillingham

00:11that are having to bear the brunt of it as they're not only worried about their businesses

00:15but also their own safety.

00:17They just grab things and just run before you can even blink or do anything about it.

00:22We're not a big, big store so we can't just write it off and get it back on insurance.

00:28It's a loss to me personally because I buy them in so it's like thieving from me.

00:33I've got a radio in case we need to get hold of other shops or the police

00:38but because they're not here they can't respond.

00:40It's not their fault.

00:42I don't know what else you can do because it's never going to end.

00:45It's never going to stop.

00:47About a month ago is when Dawn experienced a family running in

00:50and spreading themselves out around the shop.

00:52They came in and they took things like these beddings

00:55and also these rugs behind me have had to be moved from the front of the shop to the back.

00:59But not only that, Dawn has also now got these radios

01:02which contact the police directly if this were to ever happen again.

01:06She says that it makes her feel that tiny bit safer

01:08but there's still more that needs to be done.

01:10Kent Police said it received a report around 2pm on Monday 19th August

01:15that five women and two children stole bedding and a rug on Gillingham High Street.

01:20No one has been arrested at this stage

01:21but officers are appealing to anyone with more information to get in contact.

01:26Meanwhile, new figures from Kent Police show there's been 2,433 more cases of shoplifting

01:32being reported this year compared to 2023.

01:36It remains fuelled by drugs and drug habits, organised crime and also opportunists.

01:41So our proactive strategy is seeing more of these apprentices being solved

01:46and also more people being brought to justice.

01:48We'll carry on taking that fight to those people who are repeatedly targeting our vendors.

01:54We're working jointly across the region,

01:57across the country to tackle shoplifting in a coordinated way.

02:01But everyone's got a part to play in that, keeping our retail shop workers safe.

02:07So we're working with the shops, our business crime reduction partnerships

02:11to make sure that we can see a reduction in shoplifting going forward.

02:15Retailers are now being encouraged to sign up to a scheme called My Community Voice

02:19which allows them to connect to their local police teams directly.

02:22But for many business owners like Dawn,

02:25that hasn't removed the helplessness and the worries she feels on a daily basis.

02:30Mahima Abedin for KMTV in Gillingham.