Children as young as five have been filmed masked with balaclavas stealing from a corner shop while parents wait outside.
Shopkeeper Erdogan Yigitoglu, 52, has spent years sharing CCTV footage of shoplifters online to reduce crime – including young kids stealing while concealing their identities.
His footage shows offenders helping themselves to piles of chocolate bars, disposable BBQs worth £120 and an array of other items.
However, the most shocking discovery was children as young as five being ‘masked up’ in balaclavas and taking items including fruit before returning to adults waiting outside.
On one occasion he said he even saw a mother pat their child on the head as if they were congratulating them on a successful haul.
Mr Yigitoglu, who has run his shop in Bournemouth, Dorset, for 19 years, says he has lost thousands of pounds every year from burglary alone and it has also taken a toll on his mental health.
Over the last six years, however, the father-of-three has found that publicly shaming thieves on social media and banning them from his shop is the best way to reduce crime.
‘The incident with the young children in balaclavas was particularly shocking for me,’ Mr Yigitoglu said.
CCTV footage shows the moment two young children wearing balaclavas steal fruit from a corner shop in in Bournemouth, Dorset
A boy dressed in yellow walks to the store in a balaclava while his parent waits outside
Another balaclava-clad child is also sent to the the corner store to shoplift fruit
‘What upset me most was seeing very young children copying this kind of behaviour from adults.
‘What was even more disturbing was seeing the children take things from the shop and then go back to their mother, while she appeared to treat the situation as if it was normal, even smiling and patting the child on the head.
‘As a father myself, I found that extremely upsetting. I would never want children to grow up thinking that stealing is acceptable or something to be proud of.
‘I sincerely hope that in the future we see fewer situations like this.
‘My biggest wish is that children are taught the difference between right and wrong and are given the guidance they need to grow up as responsible members of the community.’
Mr Yigitoglu added around half of the people who he says have been caught shoplifting red-handed in his videos have returned to apologise and pay for the items.
He said: ‘From my experience, sharing the CCTV has made a real difference.
‘We have noticed that since we started sharing genuine CCTV footage on social media, the number of incidents has gone down.’
Mr Yigitoglu said he recently had an incident in the evening where a group of youngsters came into the shop with their faces covered.
He explained: ‘Because we could not see their faces, we did not allow them into the shop.
‘They then took a large box of chocolates and ran away. These are the kinds of incidents we are dealing with.
‘It is extremely frustrating because we are working hard every day, trying to run an honest business and provide a service to the community.
‘All we want is to be able to work without fear and without constantly worrying about whether something is going to be stolen.’
Shopkeeper Erdogan Yigitoglu, 52, has spent years sharing CCTV footage of shoplifters online to reduce crime
A young child wearing a balaclava steals fruit from a shop in in Bournemouth
The impact of such frequent theft has not only taken a toll on Mr Yigitoglu’s finances, but also his mental health – as he says he has found himself repeatedly feeling frightened about what has or will be taken next.
He said: ‘Of course these incidents make us fearful. They affect us much more than people might realise.
‘Sometimes we feel that we cannot even breathe properly because we are so worried about what might happen next.
‘Even when we leave the shop, our minds are still here.
‘We are always thinking, “Has anything gone missing? Has someone stolen something?”
‘You cannot properly switch off from it.’
Mr Yigitoglu said he does not release the CCTV to embarrass people or cause additional problems – but simply to try and eradicate shoplifting.
He added: ‘We want to be able to run our business without always worrying about theft.
‘What concerns me most is the effect this can have on the next generation.
‘If young people grow up seeing this behaviour as normal or something to copy, I really worry about where we will be in the future if nothing changes.
‘We don’t want this to become normal.
‘We want people to understand that behind every small business there are real people, real families and years of hard work.
‘My message is simple: we need to stop treating shoplifting as something normal or harmless.
‘We want to see action so that small businesses can feel safe again.’
