'I’ve hardly slept': Sheffield shop owner speaks out over repeated thefts
A Sheffield shop owner says he has been left exhausted, anxious and acting as his own “security guard” after a string of thefts at his store.
Fed up of thieves in his shop Mathew Reynolds, owner and founder of The Bare Alternative on Abbeydale Road, spoke to The Star last week and said his business was repeatedly being targeted.
There were five thefts between October and November last year and the most recent two incidents came in the space of a few days in February.
Last week, Mathew said that despite reporting thieves, arrests had not been made - meaning offenders had been free to return and offend again and again.
It has since emerged that since then Helen Stubbs, aged 42, of Washington Road, Sharrow, was arrested and charged with one offence.
She pleaded guilty to one count of shop theft during a hearing Sheffield Magistrates' Court yesterday (March 2).
She admitted stealing £159.60 of items from Bare Alternative in Abbeydale Road, Sheffield, on February 17 and was given a £50 fine.
South Yorkshire Police said: “Our charge rate for shop thefts is the third best in the country, according to the most recent Home Office statistics, with 30.3 per cent of investigated offences resulting in a charge.
“This figure doesn't include theft offences that are dealt with by way of out of court resolutions.
“This is higher than the national average charge rate, which stands at 20.1 per cent, and significantly higher than the rate in London for the Metropolitan Police which stands at 7.1 per cent.”
Chief Inspector Kay Fitzgerald added: “We recognise the devastating and detrimental impact that shoplifting has on hard-working business owners and members of staff, and it is far from a victimless crime.
“We investigate every single shoplifting offence reported to us, regardless of the value of what has been stolen, and I would encourage any business which has been a victim of shoplifting to please report it to us so we can conduct a thorough and proper investigation.”
Last week, shop owner Mathew said he felt police had “not done enough” to tackle shoplifting at his store, but he appreciated forces were “under-resourced”.
He has made the decision to speak out after two incidents at his shop in the space of a few days on Tuesday, February 17 and Friday, February 20.
Mathew said around £180 worth of shampoo, conditioner and chocolate was stolen in the first incident.
“That Tuesday they came in and took £180 worth of stock and on Friday they came back - where I was waiting to greet them,” he said.
He immediately called 999 and remained on the phone while following the shoplifters.
“I called police on 999 immediately and stayed on the phone while I followed them, but because I said I wasn’t sure if anything had been stolen, they did not deploy any units,” he said.
“I made sure they knew they were known shoplifters but still no response. Eventually I had to let them walk away.
“It’s on me to be a security guard.”
Mathew added: “I made a mistake in saying they hadn’t stolen because it was such a crazy situation at the time.
“I was told if I had said yes they have stolen, an area sweep would’ve happened - I believe an arrest could have been made on the Friday.”
He said there were five thefts at his shop in October and November last year.
At the time, the shop did not have CCTV, limiting the evidence he could provide.
Though the shoplifting is affecting the business financially, Mathew said the emotional impact is far greater.
“As someone who is self-employed running a small company like this, I was directly affected financially but also way beyond that,” he said.
“After the first incident I was very angry and annoyed. For them to come back, that was when it really hit - I lost sleep for several days afterwards, I was constantly playing over the incident - should I have done more, done less, all these different scenarios.”
He added that large chains can absorb losses, but it still affects staff in the same way.
“A large supermarket can suck it back into profits on a national scale whereas we can’t, but it’s still hard for them too,” Mathew explained.
“They don’t care about the cameras, nothing is a deterrent,” he said.
“Even if they were caught and sent to prison, it is just a slap on the wrist and then they’re back out, caught again and the cycle continues. It is not counted as a serious crime.
“Petty crime needs to be taken more seriously - it affects people.
“What’s needed is tougher sentences or tougher punishments for crimes like this and a real crackdown from police, that there’s no tolerance for this sort of behaviour for all businesses - none of us can afford to lose like this.
“Part of me feels sorry for them that they have to resort to this - they clearly need help. But then they came back and I was outraged all over again.
“The right system is not in place - whether they’re stealing for drugs or just for kicks, the root cause is not being addressed.”