Inside the shoplifting crimewave, as gangs steal baby formula to cut drugs and exploit children as ‘distraction’ methods
RAKING in more than £20,000 a month from shoplifting at the height of her criminality, Kim Farry’s living room was constantly stashed with stolen loot.
What began as a way to feed her family ended with the mum of six trapped in an all-consuming addiction lasting 46 years.
Now, after several long stints in jail, and with her cash “squandered”, her story serves as a stark warning.
Kim is sharing her experience as shoplifting has rocketed by more than 30 per cent, with retailers losing £953million last year and shop workers experiencing more than 800 violent incidents every day.
The 62-year-old told The Sun on Sunday: “What began as a necessity became an addiction that was taking my kids’ mum away from them.
“It was when one of my kids was embarrassed to bring her friends for a sleepover because of all the gear we had at home from my thieving that I finally knew I had to change.”
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This week, the Government unveiled plans to tackle the problem in a crime and justice bill that includes mandatory jail sentences for repeat offences and a greater use of facial recognition technology by police and stores.
Recent police data showed a 30.9 per cent surge in recorded UK shoplifting incidents, year on year.
But those on the front line say the figures do not reflect the real scale of the problem.
In its latest crime survey published in March, trade body the British Retail Consortium found there had been eight million incidents of customer theft over the previous year.
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Distraction method
Leeds city centre has seen a huge upsurge in shoplifting, with 2,157 crimes recorded — an 83 per cent increase on the previous year.
Lisa Caley, the manager of Armadillo Toys, says local business owners notify each other of known shoplifters in the area using WhatsApp.
She said: “I’ve worked in retail for 20 years and this is the worst it’s ever been.
“It’s hitting our profits and small businesses are hurting.
“Men and women come in with children who are clearly not their own and use them as a distraction method to steal items.”
Lisa, 44, added: “Last week a man with a child stole £150 worth of Pokémon cards. They will most likely be sold online.
“It’s up to businesses to find practical solutions. Our WhatsApp group has become crucial — we all alert each other to threats and act as one business community.”
The Co-op recently released figures showing police were not responding to more than 70 per cent of call-outs over serious crimes in its stores.
It said cases of shoplifting and anti-social behaviour were up 35 per cent year on year, as criminal gangs target stores to steal goods such as coffee, alcohol and baby formula — which is used to cut drugs.
Richard Inglis, who runs three Co-op stores in Hampshire, said: “On a bad day, we can have up to eight incidents across our stores.
“Occasionally, we get a day when we get a break, but to give you an idea, in July we had 80 recorded incidents.
“These people are not starving. It’s not desperate mums trying to feed their children who are targeting our stores, it’s organised criminals. They are not desperate.
“When they raid the meat sections, they are only stealing the best cuts of steak and taking multiple cuts.”
And Richard believes the burden of proof to get a conviction for shoplifting is now so extreme that the crime had essentially been decriminalised.
The Sun on Sunday visited Durrington, a suburb of the West Sussex seaside town of Worthing and England’s worst-hit area for shoplifting.
Businesses there accuse Sussex Police of “giving up” and “admitting defeat” amid the shoplifting onslaught.
Recent police data showed Durrington South had seen 487 shoplifting crimes last year — equating to almost 20 per shop.
Within seconds of our reporter arriving, police were parked outside a Co-op dealing with a troublemaker believed to be a shoplifter.
The shop’s staff team leader, Liam Williams, told The Sun on Sunday the store was targeted several times a day.
He said: “We’re the worst affected place in England and Wales, but the police do not bother.
“It’s multiple times a day. They know they can get away with it. It’s mostly the same group of people, they’re laughing in our faces.
“I’ve been here three-and-a-half years and it’s the worst it’s ever been.”
After one incident this year, Liam tried to flag down a nearby police car and recalled: “They said they’d be back later, but they drove off and nobody came back.
“We’re fighting a losing battle. We’re losing tens of thousands of pounds.”
Pavananthi Sachithanatham, manager of the Premier convenience store next door, said children had targeted shops nearby with swords.
He said: “The offenders are very young, like 12 or 13. It’s a crime wave.
“Every day we are hit by shoplifters and problems. We’ve lost a lot.”
Statistics show that in the 12 months to March, only 48,218 shoplifting incidents recorded by the police resulted in charges, which works out at just 14 per cent.
And 54 per cent of investigations — 183,450 cases — were closed with no suspect being identified.
While more than half of retailers surveyed by the BRC said the police response to shoplifting was fair, a considerable number branded it poor or very poor.
A 2014 law change means the theft of goods worth £200 or less now comes under the category of antisocial behaviour, with perpetrators more likely to receive a fine without having to attend court.
This week a member of the Government suggested it is prepared to build more prisons to accommodate prolific shoplifters.
Transport minister Richard Holden said: “I think there has been an issue where sometimes the police haven’t concentrated enough on some of these offences.
“But they really do have a huge impact on our high streets and shops right across the country.
“If people are persistently breaking the law, then they should go to jail, and if we need to build more prison places for them, so be it.”
Yet prison time failed to serve as a deterrent for shoplifting addict Kim, whose habit soon spiralled out of control.
She recalled: “I was one of nine kids and my mum had nothing. I remember us once having just one egg in the house to eat.
“I started stealing food but soon knew I could steal more than that, taking clothes, handbags, anything small enough to grab and run out of a shop with.
“Soon I was stealing stuff to order and paying others to steal to order — it became a big business for me. I became known as ‘Kim’s catalogue’.
“I was raking in up to £20,000 a month.
“It was money I squandered, and I was miserable.
“I had several long stints in prison and even having kids didn’t stop me.”
It was only in January 2015 that Kim, from Fulham, West London, realised quite how ashamed her children were of her and she decided to put an end to her criminality.
She said: “I had nothing left to show for it apart from a criminal record, no savings, but I just knew I couldn’t keep doing this.
“I went cold turkey and told my kids, who didn’t believe I could change.
“But that just made me more determined.
“It’s been over eight years now and I can honestly say I’ve never been happier.
“I do voluntary work, speaking to young offenders so they can hear my story and get back on the right track.
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“I’ve worked with the police.
“I want to make the world a better place after everything I did.”
TECH IS BEATING CRIMS
STORES are looking to technology to try to tackle the scourge of shoplifting.
The Information Commissioner’s Office, the data and privacy watchdog, recently approved facial recognition system Facewatch for use in shops.
The £10-a-day technology can be linked to CCTV cameras and is connected to a database of images of prolific shoplifters.
High street store chains that have tested the software include Spar, Budgens, Costcutter and Sports Direct.
When a repeat offender enters a shop, the tech takes just seconds to recognise them and send a Bluetooth warning to staff.
They can then approach the individual and ask them if they need any help – to make it clear they are being monitored.
Facewatch founder Simon Gordon said the software has an accuracy of 99.85 per cent.
He told The Sun on Sunday: “It’s a game-changer. Shops using it have had an average 40 per cent drop in thefts.
“It is the same ten or 20 people carrying out the thefts in each shop.
“Our technology targets them. Anyone using it sees a big reduction in the first 90 days.
“We’re on the verge of securing a big, big player in the market. The interest is enormous.”
It is claimed shoplifting has fallen in stores where the technology has been used and there has been a 20 per cent drop in assaults against workers.
Dave Hiscutt, who owns five independent stores in the south, has used the tech since May and says ten repeat offenders have already been put off visiting.
He said: “The police do not have the resources to deal with it but we need to respond robustly.”