Let’s back retailers, and have less sympathy for shoplifters

Shoplifting is a massive problem for retailers. Call it what you like, shoplifting, retail theft... it’s stealing, plain and simple.

It has been an issue forever, but despite the use of CCTV, security systems and door staff, it seems to be worse today than it was 40 years ago. And more costly too.

One of my first jobs as a young garda back in 1980s Dublin was dealing with a shoplifter in Stillorgan Shopping Centre. She was a young teacher who took a few small items she didn’t even need, which confused me at the time. I later learned that this wasn’t uncommon, and it was often a cry for help.

Another lady, who was very wealthy in her own right, and was also married to a senior bank worker, was caught stealing a chicken from her local supermarket. She was hardly in desperate need of food so there was clearly something else going on there too.

In both of these cases, the property was returned to the store, so nobody was out of pocket, and their cases were dealt with sympathetically.

The women were unlikely to become prolific thieves, and it was anticipated they would resolve whatever issues were at the root of their uncharacteristic behaviour.

On the other hand, there are people with addiction problems who treat shoplifting as a source of income. They steal on a daily basis to feed their habit and often use violence when confronted.

Threatening or assaulting retail workers has grown to such an extent that some retailers may even prefer to let thieves walk out of the store unchallenged to protect the staff from harm.

Prolific thieves are a serious problem because they are a constant thorn in the side. They don’t go away. They are regularly prosecuted, fined, jailed or whatever, but they often return to thieving.

They may receive some sympathy because of their addictions, but at the end of the day, retailers are losing financially because of their activity.

An even bigger scourge to retailers is the organised gangs of shoplifters. Professional thieves who make a business out of stealing. They often hunt in packs and have all the tricks of the trade.

They often use distraction tactics to focus the attention of staff in one direction while theft is taking place somewhere else.

They can be extremely well organised and often use special containers to secrete the stolen goods and to avoid detection systems.

Retailers, security personnel, and even police officers need to be certain of their ground before challenging these thieves because getting it wrong could cost the retailer dearly.

The Echo reported recently that a Cork city shopkeeper called for changes to the legal system to better tackle repeat offenders, as a survey revealed that 36% of Irish small to medium enterprises were affected by crime in the past 12 months, with the figure as high as 100% for convenience stores.

ISME’s Business Crime Survey 2025 found that of Irish businesses which experienced crime, 68% were targeted more than once, and that 34% of SMEs spend over €5,000 annually on crime prevention.

One store owner in Cork city told The Echo that he spends €40,000 per year on security. “Retailers have to incur security costs and cover the costs of losses, while we’re dealing with rising costs for electricity, products, wages, just like everybody else,” he said.

A total of 67% of respondents expressed dissatisfaction with Garda response times, and 76% of retailers said they had experienced financial losses, with 36% reporting losses exceeding €10,000 in a year.

They seem to be facing the same issue across the water. The Times UK had a story about a shopkeeper who was using social media and posters to fight back against the thieves who targeted his family-run store.

He decided that the police weren’t helping, so he took to shaming the shoplifters himself.

He had seen an increase in theft and after growing frustrated with reporting shoplifters to the police only to see no action taken, he resorted to the tactic of shame.

The shopkeeper printed a screenshot of a customer pocketing an energy drink and posted it on his shop window with the message “I’m a thief and I love Red Bull”.

However, he soon received a visit from a community support police officer who advised him to remove the poster as it could be deemed a violation of data protection laws.

That reminded me of a case back in the noughties when a store owner in Cork put photos of persistent shoplifters in the front window of the shop which were clearly visible from the street.

We were instructed to call to the store to advise the owner that they were letting themselves open to prosecution.

Fed-up shopkeepers will tell you it’s not worth their time calling gardaí anymore. If officers are thin on the ground and the prisons are already full to overflowing, then what are retailers supposed to do? If there is no deterrent, shoplifters will keep returning.

The Irish Examiner reported that when examined through a national lens, the statistics for Cork city centre are notably high, with the total numbers of crimes reported to gardaí in Anglesea Street 800% above the national average for garda stations.

They received 1,309 reports of thefts and related offences among the 3,328 crimes recorded last year.

So, maybe it’s time to have more concern for our retailers and less for the shoplifters.

I think persistent offenders should be named and shamed. Their photographs should be posted in public and shared among other retailers, so everyone knows who they are.

Alternatively, adopt the Singapore system where a shoplifter in that part of the world could face a seven-year jail term plus a fine.

That might work, but prison space could be an issue.