Christmas shoplifters to rob €31m in goods
British shoplifters top the league table, stealing an estimated €709m worth of goods this Christmas, followed by Germany (€641m) and France (€572m).
While Irish shoplifters will steal the least amount of goods this holiday season according to this EU survey, director of the Small Firms Association Pat Delaney believes the figure of 31m is extremely conservative.
He said Irish shops lose €200m annually to thieves, with most goods stolen during Christmas.
“This is a boom time for shoplifters and certainly a peak season for retailers in terms of losses to theft,” Mr Delaney said.
A report called Shoplifting for Christmas, How Criminals Profit, says that many European retailers blame the introduction of the euro for the record Christmas crime spree, arguing that too many families across the eurozone have not budgeted properly in the currency’s first year and are turing to crime as an alternative.
The economic slowdown is also being blamed in some quarters for the rise in shoplifting levels.
Per Levin, vice-president for Europe at Checkpoint Systems, who funded the report, said shoplifting levels doubled at Christmas because of the battalions of organised criminals and opportunists getting the better of an army of inexperienced holiday staff.
While the report estimated that 228,000 shoplifters will be caught this Christmas across Europe, there was no breakdown available on how many would be caught in Ireland.
However, gardaí said they are very conscious of shoplifting at this time of year. “Shoplifters are certainly more active during Christmas,” a spokesperson said.
While alcohol, CDs, videos, DVDs and toiletries are among the most commonly stolen goods, Mr Delaney said many shops have noticed a significant surge in the theft of luxury goods, such as leather jackets, music systems, designers labels and expensive perfumes.
Mr Delaney said a recent survey by the SFA found that retailers were spending €800m to combat shoplifters and theft by staff. The purchase of close circuit television (CCTV) cameras had increased by 700% in the last five years, he said, as has the spend on security systems and staff.
