A new breed of criminal dubbed ‘shoplifting entrepreneurs’ has been targeting premium goods so they can auction them off for even higher prices, experts say.
Designer clothes, Lego sets, perfume and high-quality soft toys, known as Jellycats, are among the items being swiped by the middle-class crooks, according to criminologist Professor Emmeline Taylor.
The academic, who gives guidance to the Government as well as retailers, has revealed that the in-demand and often collectable items are ‘easy’ to steal because they are often niche.
The City St George’s University of London Professor also explained this ‘new category’ of criminals who often have a run-of-the-mill job and house, go on to anonymously sell the items online.
And it’s their unique profile of being ‘respected’ in other facets of life that allows the middle-class shoplifters to go undetected in comparison to their peers in gangs or those stealing to fuel alcohol or drug addiction.
Brazen Jellycats thief Samantha Lawrence (pictured) was filmed frantically stuffing £400-worth of soft toys down her trousers
In the year to June, retail crime increased by 13 per cent, reaching 529,994 recorded offences, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS).
Meanwhile, the British Retail Consortium (BRC) estimated there were 20 million cases of shoplifting, implying less than three per cent of thefts were reported.
Popular Jellycat toys have been a particular target of shoplifting sprees across the country.
CCTV showed Samantha Lawrence, quickly shoving the niche and expensive toys into bags before attempting to flee a garden centre in Worcester and Evesham on June 7.
The 38-year-old had been on a two-day shoplifting spree of garden centres in the area before she was eventually caught and fined £120 after being found guilty.
Elsewhere in Norfolk, Ruby Smith, 35, was found guilty after being caught stealing £3,000 worth of Jellycats.
CCTV showed her walking around local shops with the plush toys in her bag, her pram or clothing and then attempting to leave the shop without paying.
When police searched her Suffolk home, they found around 40 Jellycat toys.
Samantha Lawrence, 38, was seen stealing £655 worth of Jellycats from St Peter’s Garden Centre
The dishwater blonde, who wears a long coat and stripy scarf, at one point even stuffs an extra large toy animal in a bag
Sir Mark Rowley (pictured) claimed there is evidence of security staff working with gangs in various stores to help them steal from shops
Smith was handed a 26-week suspended prison sentence and ordered to wear an electronic tag as well as to pay compensation totalling to £1,400.
‘There seems to be a new category [of shoplifter]. They are offenders who have locked onto a specific product,’ Professor Taylor told The Telegraph.
‘They may have wanted to buy it themselves, realised it was expensive, but may be relatively easy to steal as a niche item.
‘Another factor is how easy it is to sell on e-commerce platforms. You have almost complete anonymity. ‘
When asked why somebody with a house, a job and a seemingly normal life would be willing to risk it all in order to shoplift, the academic said it was the ‘thrill’ of taking the risk voluntarily.
She also explained their criminality could be fueled by mental health issues, a feeling of entitlement, as well as the assumption of no consequences, or even by stress.
Britain’s shoplifting crisis lies in the lack of results, with over half of cases being closed without a possible suspect.
‘The police are saying the retailers don’t provide the evidence. The retailers say the police don’t request it or don’t follow it up,’ she added.
The Metropolitan Police Commissioner has urged stores to do more to help officers bring shoplifters to justice.
Sir Mark Rowley claimed there was evidence of security staff working with gangs to help them steal from shops, as some refused to hand over CCTV or snaps of thugs caught red-handed.
He alleged other stores would not allow employees time off to attend court or to provide statements to the police.
And while Sir Mark maintained retailers were right in their criticism of the police, he also insisted they also ‘need to step up more’.
‘The retail sector, a couple of years ago, was right to be cross with policing across the country,’ he said..
‘But in London, over the last year or so, we’ve really doubled down on it. We’re making a lot of progress, but I need to challenge back now to the retail sector.
‘They now need to do better.’
