Leeds: “shoplifting capital of the UK”?
Leeds. A city of of six universities, over 200,000 students and endless Otley runs.
Of live music, independent cinema, and a bourgeoning media scene.
Of history, industrialism and the company that brought us that steadfast favourite, Percy Pigs.
And of…shoplifting?
Last Thursday, 19th October, the ITV Tonight show aired an episode titled, “Shoplifting: the battle on the high street”.
In it, the presenter Paul Brand labelled Leeds: the “shoplifting capital of Britain”.
Brand cited the statistic that there was around 2,000 shoplifting crimes in the city centre in 2022. This number is only including incidents that were reported to police.
Consensus over which area has the highest rates of shoplifting is difficult to find, and in some reports Leeds is high on the list.
However The Times cites information from official police data to affirm the title. This data shows that since 2012, Leeds has had the highest rate of shoplifting crimes. In second place is Cardiff, Westminster third.
Despite debate over the validity of the provocative label, “shoplifting capital”, businesses and authorities are in no doubt about the rise of shoplifting nationally.
Dame Sharon White, the current chair of John Lewis who is delivering a public lecture at the university next month, described shoplifting as an “epidemic”.
The British Retail Consortium (BRC), estimates that shoplifting cost the British economy around £1bn in 2021-22. Most of this cost was for crime prevention, not from direct product losses.
The reasons for this rise are more complicated. Reactions to shoplifting risk criminalising people in situations of deprivation who already face intense stigma.
Shoplifting occurs in the context of the aftermath of austerity and the Cost of Living Crisis, which has made essentials completely unaffordable for many.
In March 2023, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) reported food inflation of 19.2%, a 45-year high.
Poverty charity the Joseph Rowntree Foundation said that 3.8 million UK residents faced the most extreme poverty, destitution, in 2022.
This means in a population of 67 million, in the 6th richest country by GDP, one in seventeen residents are unable to afford basic provisions including shelter, energy and food.
Some companies acknowledge this. Whilst not advertised as official policy, or publicised to the public, there are reports of businesses saying they will turn a blind eye if they believe the theft is because of need.
Anecdotal reports include shop workers ignoring mothers taking a pack of nappies.
However, some distance the current wave of shoplifting from these smaller instances of genuine need.
Interviewed for the Tonight show, Conservative Policing Minister Chris Philp MP said it was not about the Cost of Living Crisis, “its organised gangs, its people feeding drug habits”.
Whilst Philps overlooks the correlation between poverty and some instances of crime, data from the Trust for London somewhat supports his claim.
The statistics show that shoplifting cases are actually higher amongst those classed as “the least deprived”.
This challenges the narrative that shoplifting in 2023 is predominately done by those who need it, and is reflected in the bold, premeditated types of offences described by business owners.
Some students interviewed, who wish to remain anonymous, shared the sentiment that shoplifting was essentially a victimless crime, and something too low on police priorities to have any real risk associated.
The documentary emphasised the sentiment that police are seen as inactive when it comes to theft. Professor Emmeline Taylor, a criminology expert, described the situation as a “perfect storm”, as the police force is overstretched and under resourced.
An article from The Guardian published last month reiterated the sense that some offenders have that this is a crime they can easily get away with. A Leeds Co-op manager is quoted in the article:
“it feels like these offenders simply come in and take what they want, and do what they want”.
Common items stolen include meat, laundry detergent, coffee, and alcohol. These items may then be resold for profit.
Despite the overarching picture, the experiences of individual businesses varies.
The Gryphon spoke to the owner of an independent off-licence in Burley. He said they have had minimal instances of shoplifting: “we don’t get much around here, because it’s mainly students.”
He said instances were rarely worse than “someone taking the odd packet of biscuits”, and the CCTV throughout the shop made it easy to identify. Their strategy for dealing with this was to call out the offender.
In some cases, this may place staff in a vulnerable position.
Organised shoplifting is coinciding with a rise in antisocial behaviour, and reports of shop workers being harassed and assaulted are on the rise.
A University of Leeds student who works in a Sainsbury’s store said they do not feel unsafe at work due to the presence of 24 hour security:
“I do not feel unsafe at work, and I don’t think any of my colleagues do either. The managers are very clear that it is not our job to stop someone from taking something. We’ve also got personal body cameras which are reassuring to have”.
But security is a luxury smaller businesses cannot often afford.
The Gryphon contacted West Yorkshire Police for comment.
Superintendent Dan Wood said: “We have not seen any notable increase in organised criminality or offences in which violence is used or threatened, but when such serious offences do take place, they are investigated as priority crimes by detectives”.
