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WHEN YOU’RE OUT and about shopping this Christmas, watch your bags.
Organised gangs are said to be targeting stores over the festive season to steal people’s belongings, according to ISME, the Irish Small & Medium Enterprises Association.
One retail group told TheJournal.ie that some gangs are even flying in to target specific streets over the festive season.
ISME has sent a warning to retailers to be extra vigilant during the Christmas period, but that warning can be extended to shoppers too.
It says that shops throughout the country are being increasingly targeted by shoplifters and organised gangs.
Targeted
The association says that evidence indicates that retailers are twice as likely to be victims of shoplifting over the Christmas period, thanks to busy stores and large crowds.
ISME Chief Executive, Mark Fielding said that shoplifters “see the Christmas period as the ideal opportunity” to shoplift due to crowds and more stock on the shelves.
He also said that some people buy stolen goods from thieves, “probably aware that the items have been obtained illegally, but thereby helping to promote the business of crime”.
ISME research found shoplifting almost trebles at Christmas compared to the rest of the year. It says that Friday and Saturday are peak days.
While alcohol, electronic goods, phones, cosmetics, clothing and food products are the most common items targeted by thieves, ISME has also noticed a significant surge in theft of luxury items.
Crime and Punishment
ISME said that business owner-managers have a “significant role” to play in combating shoplifting, it is calling for an increased garda presence in the main commercial and shopping centres over Christmas, together with swift court action to deter retail crime and jail the offenders.
Seán Murphy, Deputy CEO of Retail Excellence Ireland agreed with ISME’s assessment.
“Loss prevention officers have a real challenge at Christmas,” Murphy told TheJournal.ie.
There are some organised gangs - some have been known to fly in to hit certain streets and fly out again.
He described shoplifting as a “perennial challenge”, but said that the concern from REI members is that “it isn’t treated as seriously in courts as it could be and should be”.
He said that in court, dealing with individuals “on a case-by-case basis may not capture the amount of serial shoplifting they’re doing”, so they are “not being judged as hard as they should be”.
“Shoplifters affect the bottom line of every consumer because the shop has to recoup the loss,” he said. ”They do very real economic damage.”
Combating crime
ISME recommends that retailers take a number of steps to combat the increased level of crime against their business, including:
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Flying in eh, I sure do miss the Iron Curtain.
These mysterious thieves.. i wonder who they could possibly be. Maybe.. Finnish gangs or Icelandic gangs or I know those goddamned Lichtensteinic we are always hearing about. Goddamn them!
I suspect the Quakers. Just don’t mention the ‘R’. 0ma.
I’ll say it, Romanians, there.
Ebola
Some folk say it were the wildlings of Romaton
I think they come here for revenge on the Irishmen that sold them dodgey generators, Tarmac and made a balls of their gutters !!
You were watching the telly last night. Do we not have enough gangs of our own without importing them?
Get security guards who are tough as old leather, make sure there’s a room with no CCTV in your premises and beat them black and blue. It’s not like they’re going to report it to the gardai!! Maybe watch Casino before each shift…
Stop them at the airport.
No way would they do that here. That makes far too much sense.
Just close the airports. And the ports while we’re at it. We’ll all be safe then.
They don’t need to fly in…the Irish scobies do a good job themselves in robbing us blind… Anyone wearing a dirty tracksuit hoodie should be banned from city centres…harsh yes…but it’s the truth !
Especially the ones digging up Parnell Square etc…..the dirtbirds!!
It’s beginning to steal a lot like Christmas….
There’s something about these figures that doesn’t sit right.
Estimating that they’re going to see a 5% increase in losses due to shoplifting. Where are they pulling this statistic from? Why are retailers and not the guards warning of groups of shoplifters flying in?
My bullshît senses are tingling.
I agree. It’s very strange that a retail group is warning about gangs flying anywhere. A little bit of journalistic investigation would not go astray. A quite from the Gardaí?
Hi Dennis, I’m just waiting on a response from them and will add it in as soon as I have it,
Thanks
Aoife
Stats are contradictory. “Two thirds of shops will be targeted, 75% of shops will experience more than one theft.”
ISME you need to hire a more competent fictional writer who has passed junior cert maths!
The stats are contradictory, “two thirds of shops will be targeted, yet 75% will experience more than one theft”
ISME must be using a jobsbridge statistician, or could it be that its all been made up for publicity using racial undertones.
75% of the two thirds… your ability to work things out for yourself is rather poor. No wonder you level criticism at the retail organisation as opposed to the thieves.
It’s predicting that 75% of the two thirds will be hit more than once.
But yes, how they come up with the figures is beyond me. It should say “guesstimate” somewhere in the article.
I remembered the ‘Handbag Knockers’ that used to regularly come into a city centre shoe shop where I worked. It was always scary and you had to let customers know very, very quitely to watch their bags. Otherwise they would be waiting to beat you up when you left the shop to go home. It was awful when they managed to steal some poor womans bag. I just hope this article encourages everyone to be extra vigilant. It’s an terrible experience for anyone to have.
There are competing “handbag Knockers” nowadays Em, our own and the Romanian variety.
Competition among thieves.?
At least they are complying with EU standards (No monopolies!)
Thanks for the tip off ISME, I’ll be doing all my shopping online to stay away from the millions of foreign shop lifters out to get me.
Ironic in a way, given that ISME and their ilk employ most of their vast resources, stroking their own gangs of workers and denying them basic rights!!
Shoplift my belongings? Don’t you mean pickpocket? Unless I missed the memo and the entire contents of Brown Thomas are somehow mine?
They also buy a cheap flight and wander around the airport departures preying on people
Flying in to which airport(s) from which airport(s)?
I just saw Atilla the Hun in guineys, looking very overseas I must say.
Shoplifting from where? The An Post depot?
I spotted one of those criminals the other day, it was lucky I recognised her from her campaign poster before she got close enough to rob me blind.
Women and men should buy and wear a money belt.It is the only secure way to shop comfortably and free from worry in Christmas crowds.
Leave the expensive phone at home too.
Wildlings, They come from the East
Great way to get the public,to be security for the shop,by being vligant and spotting any shoplifters.
The problem is the fact that tagging systems are not security guards , you have to have them both .
have your say