NEWS FEATURE
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10 ASIAN TRADER 17 NOVEMBER 2023
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onvenience store owners are
feeling “abandoned” by the
system amid spiking retail crime,
Asian Trader has learnt, while
some even fear that supermarket giants
now partnering with police to use facial
recognition technology might end up
further driving criminals to smaller
independents.
Shoplifting has been THE buzz word for
the better part of this year with unusually
high numbers of organised looting and
blatant crime being reported from across
the country. While several industry reports
and offi cial data suggest a sharp 25 to 35 per
cent spike in retail crime rate, the ground
reality is even worse given the fact that a
major ratio of such cases goes unreported.
Crime has shot up from a couple of
incidents a week to fi ve, six or even more
such incidents a day in a single store.
Criminals have evolved from sneaky to
blatant. Operating alone or in groups, they
are absolutely fearless, and even turn
violent if they are challenged in the act.
In the words of retailer Benedict
Selvaratnam, the owner of the almost
decade-old Freshfi elds Market Convenience
store in Croydon, indie store owners are now
feeling exposed, abandoned and completely
on their own in safeguarding themselves
against fearless (and sometimes even
violent) off enders.
“We have been facing a massive increase
in retail crime recently, since the last 12
months specifi cally. Earlier, we used
to have three to fi ve incidences max
a week but now we are facing
somewhere between three to 10
such cases a day.
“We’re based in the town centre
in Croydon and criminal gangs here
use several techniques to steal. They
are very professional – one of them
will distract the cashiers or the fl oor
staff , while the other person with a
bag will be empty the shelves –
whether it is coff ee, meat items,
alcohol or chocolates boxes.”
Be it organised criminal gangs or
‘It is time that voices of indie retailers get heard
‘It is time that voices of indie retailers get heard
so that both the government and public know
what they are going through.’
what they are going through.’
By Pooja Shrivastava
people with drug issues, they simply don’t
care and have no fear of the law, he said.
Ironically enough, at the time of this
conversation with Asian Trader, Selvarat-
nam had already tackled two crime inci-
dents in his store, and it was not even lunch
time. One was a repeat, banned off ender
who nevertheless entered while masked up
in another attempt, while another man was
caught and tackled as he was trying to steal
some bottles of wine.
In both cases, Selvaratnam didn’t bother
to call the police as the “response has not
been great” in the past.
“Whenever we have called them, they
always delay in sending someone. Mostly,
70 to 80 per cent of the time, no one turns
up. So, we have stopped calling the police
and we just try to manage things ourselves.
Obviously, if there has been violence, then
we do call them. But otherwise, we don’t
bother.”
Left alone and unsupported, Selvarat-
nam is forced to take measures to save his
business. He now employs extra staff , some
just to keep an eye on the shop fl oor, he says.
“We don’t need that many staff but since
we are in the middle of this shoplifting
epidemic and since we are also left alone to
safeguard ourselves, we are forced to hire
extra staff from our own pocket. However,
not everyone can aff ord that.
“We are a younger team so thankfully, we
are still able to deal with this. But I am aware
that there are so many smaller retailers who
just can’t aff ord extra staff while some
others are getting closer to the age of
retirement, and they are not in a position to
physically protect their stores,” pointed out
Selvaratnam.
The environment, the daily struggle with
criminals, the constant tension and stress
are now taking a toll on the mental health of
store owners as well as of their staff .
“We already work for 12-14 hours a day.
It’s so painful that someone can just walk in
and take what they want and leave,” he said.
“It’s tough on me; it’s tough for the
mental health for the team. I have also had a
couple of female staff resign earlier this year
as they were too shaken after some people
jumped over the counter.”
Selvaratnam’s Croydon store has CCTV
cameras in place though he feels they are
not of much use.
“We already have 14 cameras but it’s just
deterrence. It doesn’t actually stop people
from shoplifting.”
If the situation is not tackled as a priority,
it will become tougher to fi nd people to
work in retail, particularly in indie
stores, he warned.
Since the government and police
are not doing enough, people who are
committing crimes are not afraid and
continue to roam freely because they
know there are no consequences. The
repeat off enders, who are banned from
the store, don’t hesitate in trespassing
and steal again.
“It almost feels like shoplifting has
been decriminalized. Police just give a
crime reference number; it’s almost
like an insurance job. For under the
value of £200, they don’t even visit the
Feeling ‘abandoned’
and vulnerable