Spotlight on shoplifting following national crackdown

IN light of a new national project that aims to crackdown on shoplifting, local shop owners have shared their experience of the issue with Melksham News. 

This follows the announcement that nationally, retailers are seeing a rise in shoplifting and retail theft, which has been partly blamed on the cost-of-living crisis.  

Ten of Britain’s largest retailers, including supermarkets Sainsbury’s, Tesco, Waitrose and Co-op are funding a police operation called Project Pegasus which will allow CCTV pictures of shoplifting incidents to be run through the Police National Database – in a bid to identify thieves and tackle the rise in shoplifting. 

In Melksham, some retailers have reported a more positive picture. One retailer in the town centre said, “We don’t really experience much of a shoplifting here in our store. Young people usually come in with their parents. We did have one incident in the summer but that was probably the first one in about the last five years. Other than that, we don’t really have an issue.” 

Another shop owner said, “We do have shoplifters, but we ban them as soon as it happens. I also inform the police straight away. I am actually noticing that the people who shoplift are from outside of Melksham because I know most of the locals.” 

With Sainsbury’s being one of the retailers supporting the new project to crack down on the issue, the supermarket has said they will continue to focus on security in all stores, including Melksham’s. The company has increased the number of security officers and staff already wear cameras where footage can be uploaded directly to a police portal. 

“The safety of our colleagues and customers continues to be our highest priority,” says a spokesperson for the supermarket, “We also use measures to deter criminal activity like our in-store detectives and security doors. Preventing and reducing crime in our stores will support our ongoing efforts to keep prices low for customers.”