Shoplifting cost UK stores £4.4bn in the year to the end of June 2010. The survey carried out by the Centre for Retail Research found that an average of over £12m worth of goods were stolen from shops every day in the UK during the last year. The research, compiled from data from 42,000 shops across Europe, found that more than a third of thefts were carried out by staff, with British workers the worst offenders.
Branded clothing is the most common target but meat, cheese, alcohol and seafood are also popular items to pinch along with many others.
A leading source said “Shoplifting results in a financial burden of £180 on every family in the country and so there is a real social obligation on the retail industry to do everything it can to tackle retail crime.”
About £970m was spent on increased retail security last year, but it did not stop UK stores being targeted by their own staff. Dr Adrian Beck, head of criminology at the University of Leicester, said: “In an organisation, it could be that there are very few controls, that you’re badly paid, the morale is low, and you realise that the risk of being caught is also very low....people are much more likely to take opportunities that are presented to them.”If you, like most retailers, can empathise with this latest survey and are finding shrinkage to be a major issue for your business, then A2T have the product for you. Integrated into your company security policy, the SS4000 Search Selector unit can provide both a permanent deterrent to thieves and an effective means of catching those that are not deterred, without undue imposition on your honest employees.
The system is used to record employees arrival and departure times, to calculate worked hours including overtime and to record when employees take holiday or are absent for other reasons.
