The crime epidemic is seeing brazen thieves setting up market stalls in pubs to flog goods they shamelessly shoplift from nearby stores.
In some cases, gangs even use wheelie bins to raid stores, with staff too terrified to intervene as shelves are ruthlessly emptied.
The British Retail Consortium has warned that 16.7 million incidents recorded last year had cost retailers an astonishing £1.8billion.
Now the Stealing With Impunity report by Emmeline Taylor, a professor of criminology at City, University of London, has exposed how lawless Britain's high streets have become.
The research, prepared in partnership with the Co-op store chain, found that despite investing £200million in preventative measures over recent years the retailer suffered 330,000 incidents of shoplifting last year.
This story is from the March 30, 2024 edition of Daily Express.
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This story is from the March 30, 2024 edition of Daily Express.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
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