Christmas Shop Thefts 'To Hit Record £1bn'

Christmas time shoplifting is likely to hit an all time high this year, according to new research.

Experts are predicting that more than £1bn worth of goods will be lost from stores in the run-up to December 25.

Figures from the Centre for Retail Research (CRR) suggest that the damage will be done by light-fingered employees and those involved in supply chain fraud, as well as by shoplifters.

An additional £61m worth of goods is expected to go missing during the season of goodwill in 2011, compared with the same period last year.

Professor Joshua Bamfield, director of CRR and author of the study, said: "It shouldn't come as a surprise to the industry that shoplifting, employee theft and supply chain fraud are likely to increase during the festive period.

"After all, retailers are less rigorous in their controls at this time of year. However the implications should not be underestimated.

"The research figures set out a depressing scenario. Of the £1.041bn set to go missing during the holiday season, £656m is expected to be down to shoplifters, with a further £302m stolen by staff and £83m lost through supply chain fraud."

Prof Bamfield said Christmas crime had increased by 6.2% since the 2010 research - a symptom of the tough economic climate

"The double pressure of a weak economy combined with the most expensive time of the year will inevitably lead to an increase in loss," he added.

"So unfortunately it is likely that it will worsen further, before it gets any better."

Security consultant Steve Reid said the battle against the shoplifter is one that cannot be won, only minimised through vigilance, training, experience and the latest technology.

"The trouble is that electronic security is expensive and smaller retailers just can't afford it. They really have to keep their wits about them. You won't believe what lengths people go to to steal.

"The career criminals find ways around the security all the time. We have to try to stay one step ahead," he said.

"Desperate people who wouldn't normally steal are turning to crime.

"Then there are the drug addicts, who shoplift to pay for their drugs."

Prof Bamfield says many retailers want courts to be much tougher on shoplifters caught in the act.