Alnwick businesses share their experiences of shoplifting

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From small businesses to large chains, and even charity shops, shop-lifting happens everywhere and Alnwick is no exception.

Over 440,000 shoplifting offences were recorded in the year ending March 2024, a third more compared to the previous year, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS) latest data on crime in England and Wales.

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As part of a silent crime campaign aiming to highlight the number of low-level and unreported crime sweeping the country and going unpunished, the Northumberland Gazette is focussing reporting on local, small-scale crime. By doing so, we hope to help combat reporting disparities and bring these issues to light.

With shoplifting on the rise nationally, small business owners shared their experiences with the offence and the impact it has.

Julie Robinson shared her store's experiences with shoplifting.Julie Robinson shared her store's experiences with shoplifting.
Julie Robinson shared her store's experiences with shoplifting.

Alex Raynor, an antique book dealer, runs his businesses, Lexicon Books, inside The Beehive in Alnwick. Alex experienced an incident with shoplifting when he received a phone call informing him his cabinet of expensive books was empty.

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Alex explained: “I had a locked glass cabinet of quite expensive books and I put a little description on each book so people know what they're looking at. Someone had come in with a screwdriver and literally forced the lock off the cabinets and taken about a thousand pounds worth of books. Signed editions, first editions, it was a good collection that I bought and I was quite chuffed with.”

He had a think about where the books would be taken, asked a few book dealers and tracked them down in Whitley Bay where they had been sold for a fraction of their real value.

“He didn't know what he was doing,” Alex added. “We got in touch with the police but unfortunately they weren't able to identify him.

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"My cabinet now has got two very secure locks on it and I don't put prices on stuff anymore. I'm still dealing quality, expensive items, but I feel a lot more confident now. I suppose what's come out of it is that we are much more aware of security.”

Julie Robinson, owner of Robinson’s in Alnwick, has also been met with her fair share of bold shoplifters and had one incident with a Jelly Cats thief.

Julie explained: “To watch it back on camera it's actually quite scary. There was two of us on ground floor, one of the girls had gone for lunch and it was on a Saturday, quite busy. I'd said hi to this couple, just a normal average looking couple people. As soon as I went round the corner he's obviously checked and looked to see where I am and then started stuffing, and I mean stuffing, the bag full.

“Within 20 minutes, I've got the cameras on."

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Julie put the footage on social media to find the person – a successful method as the man eventually returned the stolen Jelly Cats.

“It does make such a difference actually naming and shaming and putting their faces out there. That is something that I will continue to do.

“People do have to understand that this happens on a daily, weekly, monthly basis, so we do have to be about the store.”

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With summer being labelled the worst season for shoplifting, businesses may now have some respite before the Christmas shopping is next thing on people’s minds.

Mark Hoborough, owner of The Beehive, added: “A lot of the wannabe shoplifters in Alnwick probably don't realise that all of the shops have got a Whatsapp group. If anything happens in one shop, suddenly it pings around all the dealers and occasionally photos will be shared if necessary to say look out for this person or these people.

"We're having to protect ourselves a little bit to prevent crime happening rather than to react to it. There's a lot of mechanisms within this shop that are designed to try and discourage crime – only one of those is a German Shepherd dog.

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Mark has also come across dealers attempting to sell stolen goods and has measures to combat the issue.

"That's the other side of what's happening,” Mark added. “They're stealing from somewhere else and trying to sell to us. I'm very aware of that but there's only so much we can do and actually a stronger police presence would be quite welcomed.”

A Northumbria Police spokesperson said: “We understand and recognise the impact that shoplifting can have on businesses and our wider communities.

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“In order to further protect shop staff, support business owners and reassure everyone who works within the retail industry, we recently made some changes to strengthen our response to this type of offending.

“As part of these changes, we are actively targeting prolific offenders and are also looking to problem solve with retailers to reduce the volume of their offending.

“In line with national guidance, we also assess incidents in relation to threat, harm and risk with the appropriate resources then allocated. This ultimately helps ensure we can get to those who need us most as quickly as possible."

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They added: “We would always encourage anyone who is a victim of crime to report it to us either via sending us a direct message on social media or using the live chat function on our website. Alternatively, use the ‘Report’ page of our website.

“For those unable to contact us those ways, please call 101.

“In an emergency or if a crime is taking place, always ring 999.”