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Shoplifting 'epidemic' costs millions
11.07.08
Shoplifters are costing retailers millions of pounds in what one senior figure calls an "epidemic".
Iceland founder Malcolm Walker says the thieves have become increasingly sophisticated and ever more willing to use violence.
They are also more aware of their rights when they are detained in stores, often telling police they have been assaulted in an attempt to get shop managers to drop charges.
"We are plagued with a tidal wave," Walker tells Retail Week. "50% of the time it turns violent. Our store managers are physically attacked, spat at, assaulted. It's out of control."
His claims come days after two security guards at Nike Town in Oxford Circus were stabbed after chasing a suspected shoplifters.
Retailers say police don't have targets for reducing business crime and often regard shoplifting as not worth pursuing.
Walker revealed one of his store managers from a London branch of Iceland is facing prosecution after detaining a shoplifter.
