RETAIL CRIME COSTS OVER A BILLION

6.04.04pm GMT Thu 4th Feb 2010

Somerton and Frome MP David Heath called for urgent action today to combat retail crime, which is estimated to have cost shops across the country £1.1 billion last year. The figures come from the Retail Crimes Survey, which estimates that crimes such as shop lifting and driving away from petrol stations has gone up by 10% in the last year, and cost businesses the equivalent of 72 thousand retail jobs.

David said: "Many people seem to think that retail crime is victimless, but of course we all pay for the consequences through increased prices in the shops. It is not surprising that crimes such as this should go up in a recession, but I do wonder whether sufficient emphasis is put on this sector by the police and the courts. It's important to understand why people steal from shops, but it's also important to recognise that very often this is done by organised gangs and that proper investigation and identification of the main players could save us all money in the long run."