Bolton Town centre shopkeepers on abuse and shoplifters

The British Retail Consortium’s (BRC) annual survey found that the amount lost to shoplifting in the latest year was the highest ever recorded.

Shop workers in Bolton say they have faced abuse and shoplifting is rife.

Bolton Police are running a special operation to stop shoplifting and to tackle retail crime in the town centre - with some successful results.

Abuse of staff  increased nationally, rising by 50 per cent to 1,300 incidents a day in the year to September 2023, from 870 the year before. 

Tony Howcroft and Janet Hilton of the Victoria Square branch of Poundland, who have worked there for 14 and 13 years respectively. 

Tony said: "We get it all day, morning to night, it is absolutely disgusting. We are all working so hard to get everything out and get people in the store. 

"Some guy came in six times yesterday." 

Janet said: "It is every time of day." 

Tony Howcroft and Janet Hilton of Poundland (Image: Newsquest)

Tony added: "(The thieves) come in and help themselves, if they get caught they are back in half an hour. 

"They might come in 10 times a day. If you are lucky enough to stop them nine times, all they have to do is get away one time and they have won, we have lost. 

"It is intimidating, very sad. It is bringing staff levels lower because we are losing a lot of things, that impact financially means we're getting less hours, then less staff means more lifting." 

Janet added: "They are getting more violent especially, and verbally aggressive. I had one the other day, three customers stepped in because they thought he was going to hit me." 

Tony said: "They intimidate you so you stay away from them and they can grab whatever. 

"It is just rather sad." 

Last month, police officers cracked down on shoplifting in the town centre. 

Eight suspects were arrested, resulting in 26 charges for shoplifting and related offences. 

Zara Pinfold, manager at The A World CIC on Victoria Square, said: "I understand cost of living, things have increased, everywhere people are struggling. Unfortunately, it is very prominent in this town centre. 

"Shoplifting is a massive thing here.  I've noticed a few things missing this morning already. 

Zara Pinfold of The A World (Image: Newsquest)

"It's really frustrating, you go around tidying the shop floor and know what you have. When you notice something gone, it can make you feel quite despondent. 

"We are spending time to look through items, then someone comes in and takes it. I don't think people understand what hard work goes into these shops. 

"It is such a good cause we do it for, it's such a shame but you learn to get on with it." 

She added: "With the abuse, usually, as awful as it sounds, it's the people who stand there asking for money. They tend to be a bit more abusive than others. 

Read more: Arrests made in town centre as police hail operation a success 

Read more: Independent retailers call for Government support to tackle big surge in shoplifting

"I felt quite bad for everybody when I first came here and did try to help people out. There was one of them who opted to become a volunteer, they were wonderful.

"We have one who comes in. On one occasion, she came in and asked me for a duvet cover, I said we don't sell them but I could see if there was anything upstairs." 

Zara added: "But at that point she decided I wasn't going to be helpful, so stood there and started shouting I was a slag and that only paedophiles shop here, the usual. 

Newport Street, where many town centre shops are located (Image: Newsquest)

"I get people have bad days, and she was clearly having a really bad day." 

The Bolton News spoke to Zara and her daughter, Kyra, about shoplifting last August. 

One stolen item was Zara's granddaughter's pram. 

Speaking about this, she added: "I think I have seen it a few times being pushed around town! 

"Quite recently we had a wonderful telescope, it was incredible, it was still worth a bit even without the case. 

"I put it up for £50. It was stolen right here from the desk." 

Sarah Goldthorpe, manager at WHSmith, said: "We do have problems with shoplifting. It is fairly often. 

"We see a lot of it on Sundays, when there is no enforcement. If there is any GMP in the area, they tend to come in later on, so (the shoplifters) tend to hit first thing, right after we open. 

"When there is not a lot of us tend to target us. They know when to hit." 

She added: "It's not always same faces, but it is similar behaviours, acting suspicious, coming in, always looking, looking at specific stock, watching who's in, how many are in. 

"We had a chap who would come in on Sundays at similar times every week. He was stealing 'Tonies', a little toy that plays a story. 

"We couldn't catch him, but did eventually manage to figure out his pattern.

"Abuse, we don't get many instances. It is the people that we know we have to be careful of, some have mental health issues, one day you find they are not a problem, but another they can completely hit the roof. 

"We do get it sometimes, where it tends to be really busy, and someone is too impatient to wait, but more often then not it's not too bad." 

WHAT THE POLICE SAY

Bolton’s police 'shoplifting' team has secured multiple charges for suspected shoplifters across the town.

The officers work closely with local stores and will use a radio that connects them to store security in the area they are patrolling, in order to be able to respond as quickly as possible.

The work is further backed by a retail crime single point of carried for the district, who will liaise with stores, GMP’s crime prevention team, and the force’s retail crime lead to ensure the best work is being done wherever possible.

Sergeant Jess Prudence, from GMP’s Bolton district, said: “Our shoplifting team has been able to help stores by working closely with them to lock-up repeat offenders, provide prevention advice, and assist those in need by giving them the appropriate signposting.

“Shoplifting is a problem that we are committed to tackling and I am sure that the team will continue to deliver throughout 2024. If any stores in the Bolton area would like to get in touch with us, I would urge them to do so, as we can assist them in all things security.

“We post regular updates of our results on our social media pages as well as Bee In The Loop – all Bolton residents should check us out for the latest news and actions.”