Bolton town centre store managers on impact of shoplifting

A number of arrests have been made. Joe Yates spoke to local business and shop owners to understand the true impact of the crime.

Thieves stealing from a town centre shop have been replacing items with bible quotes.

Two months ago, Zara and Kyra Pinfold, a mother and daughter duo aged 42 and 21 respectively, opened up The A World UK CIC, on Victoria Square, a non-profit organisation which supports those with autism across the North of England.

Speaking about the spate of shoplifting they have encountered, Zara said: “I brought my granddaughter's pram in and someone came in and wheeled it out – I put it up for £50.

“They come in a few times a day, every day, and we quickly learnt that anything over £5 it needs to be close to the till.

"You do feel very defenceless.”

Kyra added: “If we’re on our own we can’t go to the toilet because we have to lock the shop. So, you spend a lot of the day holding it in as to not go to the toilet.

“It’s opportunists, if you’re serving at the till they will take the opportunity, it doesn’t matter what it is – they take stuff and replace it with a bible quote, as if they’re saying ‘God said its okay’.

"I can’t remember the quotes and we didn’t get a picture of them, but they do get left often."

The shop loses hundreds through shoplifting.

Meanwhile, Stephen McDonough, owner of Mathers of Lancashire, believes that minor theft was all but legalised in the UK earlier this year and so shop owners must take “security” into their own hands.

“We’re not hit and there’s a reason why we’re not – you can do your own security or let them have it,” the 57-year-old said.

“Shoplifting has been legalised. The police don’t want to know about it if it’s under £200, all the scum knocking around the town centre are actually aware they can steal anything under £200.

“You used to see the police walking around – that’s preventing crime, but now they won’t come to a call out. So, you either resist or don’t resist.”

He added: “If someone came in to steal something I will be after them, what more can you do? There will be resistance, I would generally rather die.”

Poundbakery, in the town centre, is targeted by shoplifters on a daily basis and has even had to close early in the past due to the abuse staff members received.

“Don’t even get me started,” manager Lesley Olive, 53, said.

“They should be named and shamed! One of them just walks in grabs a sandwich, a drink and a cake, shouts at us and walks out.

“Anything by the door they rob. It happens every day, at least once a day totalling about £5 – it doesn’t sound much but it adds up.”

Just last week on Deansgate, phone repair shop Mr Fix, saw “druggies” make off with over £1,000 worth of iPhones.

It was just one of two incidents 41-year-old Awais Khan, one of the stores employees, has been made aware of since joining two months ago.

Speaking about his experiences, he said: “One time kids came in asking for the vapes we said we can’t sell to them and they smashed the window.

“Then, a week ago two druggies came in in the middle of the day at 4.30pm. They came in ripped the glass off the cabinet and robbed all the phones, my wife tried to stop them but they pushed her over.

“A couple of days ago one druggy took the board and threw it at the window next door. Bolton is getting worse day by day.”

Last month, Greater Manchester Police launched a dedicated neighbourhood team to help new officers learn “essential skills” while tackling crimes across Bolton’s stores.

A spokesperson for the force said: “Our proactive policing teams continue to patrol Bolton town centre on a regular basis, remaining in close contact with businesses and local security.

“In the 16 weeks up until the week ending Friday 5 August, our dedicated team processed 102 prisoners and dealt with 278 crimes. The majority of these were for theft from shops, in addition to assaults, public order offences, drug possession and breach of court orders.

“Last week saw seven prisoners dealt with for 27 offences, which saw charges and court appearances for six of them. One was dealt with by means of a caution.”

It added: “We continue to do all we can to identify offenders and act swiftly to arrest and bring them to justice. Businesses should report any crimes to the police – we will investigate and act, no matter the value.”

Cllr Rabiya Jiva, Bolton Council cabinet lead for Stronger Communities, added: “I continue to have meetings with Greater Manchester Police – I will ensure this is raised and to make all businesses feel safe in the town centre and a satisfactory response to crime reported.

“I would ask anyone effected by any crime please report as we require this information to ensure we target the right areas.”

Back on Victoria Square, shop floor assistant for JD Footaction Georgia McHugh, who has worked at the store for four years, told The Bolton News that theft at the high street store is not as bad as it used to be.

The 21-year-old explained that the business sees shoplifters run off with items once every two months, and on occasion people take a singular shoe – as all the footwear on the shopfloor only consists of one right shoe.

Tawfiq Suleiman, owner of Smart Tech on Newport Street, has urged more police to patrol the town to help make residents feel safe.

“Every week someone shoplifts, we lose about £50 a month. But we were told to be careful by other phone shop owners who said people will try and rob from us,” the 26-year-old said.

“The main problem is that people don’t feel safe shopping here anymore, the police need to start patrolling the streets more – the other day there were people on bikes wearing balaclavas and a big fight in the street, no police in sight."

While a shop assistant for a town centre vape store, who wished to remain anonymous, added: “It’s not happened a lot in the six months that I’ve been working here – there’s been two people rob us while I’ve been here and both times it was about a tenner’s worth.”