Pensioners, young mothers and children are among those caught shoplifting in Teesside as the cost of living crisis forces “more desperate people to do more desperate things”.
A convenience store owner has described sometimes heartbreaking scenes as he says "every kind" of person is now resorting to stealing from shops - and his are no exception.
It comes as The Northern Echo has found nearly 400 shoplifting offences every week were recorded in our region during 2021-22 - among more than 130,000 logged by North East forces in just five years.
Read more: Here's what North East police said about 130,000 shoplifting crimes
Bay Bashir, who runs a string of convenience stores across Middlesbrough, said he had fallen victim with thefts reported every single day.
He said: “Just this week, we’ve caught a mother filling her buggy up with food, using their child as cover.
“There’s no stereotype anymore, we’re seeing every kind of person stealing, from school kids to 60-year-olds filling their baskets and walking out, it’s not just those who need drugs.”
Read more: A shoplifter's story of drugs and childhood dealing
Shoplifting rates in the region fell significantly during the pandemic but rose again last year.
But Mr Bashir believes the issue will only get worse as more people struggle to afford essentials.
He said: “People are becoming more desperate and the impact is significant for us. We used to see people stealing a can of lager at a time, but now it’s a full basket.
“I have five shops and we see shoplifters every day, if there’s a day when there isn’t a shoplifter, it’s only because we didn’t catch them.
“It’s detrimental to businesses but it’s also a risk to everyone’s safety and that’s my priority, my staff always come first.
“The worst thing I remember was an armed robbery, where he got behind the counter and demanded money.
“We have panic buttons installed but you’re not always going to be in the right position to use them.”
North East police forces have said they use a range of methods to tackle shoplifting and work closely with business owners to address the problem.
However, Mr Bashir claims police figures fail to reflect the true scale of the problem, because, he says, many incidents go unreported.
“Out of ten incidents, I’ll report maybe one of them”, he says, highlighting the work he does to try and discourage the shoplifters he catches.
He’s given talks in schools, showed up on the doorsteps of family homes and issued stark warnings to those he’s caught red-handed.
Despite being plagued by offenders, Mr Bashir manages to maintain sympathy for those struggling with addictions and for young thieves who’ve found themselves on the wrong side of the tracks.
“I try to give them a chance,” he says. “I tell them if they end up with a criminal record for shoplifting, they’ll be knackered in life.”
“I’m not unsympathetic because I know for some kids, it’s the culture they’re from and what they’ve grown up seeing.
“Some have really traumatic lives and they’ll see their parents doing something and follow in their footsteps.
“But that chain has to be broken.”
He adds: “This is not a victimless crime, it will cost all of us because the loss will ultimately be passed back to the consumer.
“And there’s no deterrent – if they do go to jail, they come back out and they might look a bit different, might even have cleaned themselves up in there, but most of them come out and go straight back to the same life.”
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