Silent Crime: Co-op reveals that cost of shoplifting rises by nearly one fifth in first half of 2024
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Already this year, £39.5 million worth of products have been taken from the shelves of Co-op food stores in the first half of 2024, with the member-owned company spending £18m so far this year to introduce anti-theft measures in a bid to protect its workers, including body-worn cameras and reinforced till points.
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Hide AdSpeaking to the PA News Agency, Matt Hood, managing director of Co-op Food, said: “It isn’t going away. The reality is that every day four of our colleagues are attacked, up 34% on 2022, and scarily a further 115 of my colleagues will be seriously abused, up 37% on two years ago. The investments we are making are working – our colleagues feel safer and we’re making them safer.”
The government is set to change the law to make shoplifting a separate offence which, while welcomed by bosses, has been urged to be introduced “as soon as possible” by chief executive Shirine Khoury-Haq.
As previously reported, petty crime such as shoplifting has risen in the past year by 30%, according to the Office for National Statistic annual crime report. The number of reported offence is now at the highest level for four decades.
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Hide AdThe issue of shoplifting has been raised by NationalWorld’s new campaign ‘Silent Crime’, which focuses on unresolved and under-reported crime which are continuing to blight communities. As part of the series, we want to hear from you about your experiences with crimes, whether it be shoplifting, anti-social behaviour or others which are under-reported. To tell us your story click here.