Rainham rails against Christmas shoplifting

From bird baths, to giant elves, shop owners say the cost of living is forcing people to steal presents.  Finn Macdiarmid reports.

Transcript

00:00Shoplifting is a huge issue across the county and the country, with a variety of businesses

00:04struggling to notice smaller items being slipped into people's pockets and bags.

00:09But during the Christmas period, statistics show that there were nearly 470,000 incidents

00:13of shoplifting this year to June in England and Wales, an increase of 28% on last year.

00:19And it's not just the shops you'd expect, with seasonal shop Christmastime having their elf

00:24on the shelf stolen, and a pet shop in Reynham suffering shoplifting as well.

00:28Well we've been the victim of a recent theft which was obviously not a great experience,

00:34but we're just very aware that this is the time when thefts can happen so we're just extra

00:40vigilant really because it's that season where people are perhaps needing things that they can't

00:45afford or sensing that there's an opportunity to maybe take things because it's a busy time

00:51for everyone. Now just like Ziggy the bearded dragon here, shoplifting can be quite hard to

00:56spot sometimes, especially during the Christmas period when there's more people in the shops,

01:00it's just harder for shopkeepers and people behind the counter to be able to see it happening.

01:05But there's also a financial side to it, the cost of living means that people just aren't

01:09able to afford the kind of gifts they want to get their family, leading to more shoplifting

01:14than any other time of the year. And even a charity shop say they see items stolen throughout

01:18the year, even though their profits go to a good cause and Christmas is always the worst time for

01:24it. Well we've had things stolen out the window, electrical items, shoes, handbags, personal

01:29belongings from lockers out the back. Yeah they just seem to be able to sneak in and we've got

01:36people in here watching but they just seem to, I don't know, sneak things in their bags and get

01:42away with it, yeah. It has increased recently but it is all the time. Yvette went on to say that

01:48people would come into the shop, try on a coat or a bag and simply walk out the door with them.

01:53Although they are able to recognise repeat offenders and have closed their changing room,

01:57they say the only way to tackle the problem is just by staying vigilant.

02:01We reached out to Kent Police for a comment but general advice is for businesses to stay aware

02:06during the holiday season, especially in crowded areas or blind spots in their stores.

02:10There is reportedly an understanding between the owners and staff of different shops.

02:14When they see someone that's known to be a shoplifter they will let the others in the area

02:18know. As the big day itself gets closer and closer, shops across Raynham and the rest of Kent

02:23are prepared to keep an extra eye out for their products this season.

02:27Finn McDermid for KMTV in Raynham.