{"id":120949,"date":"2023-10-22T14:12:04","date_gmt":"2023-10-22T14:12:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lasixlineon.com\/?p=120949"},"modified":"2023-10-22T14:12:04","modified_gmt":"2023-10-22T14:12:04","slug":"uk-shoplifting-hotspot-with-panic-buttons-in-greggs-and-barricaded-supermarkets","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lasixlineon.com\/world-news\/uk-shoplifting-hotspot-with-panic-buttons-in-greggs-and-barricaded-supermarkets\/","title":{"rendered":"UK shoplifting hotspot with panic buttons in Greggs and barricaded supermarkets"},"content":{"rendered":"
  • Bookmark<\/span><\/path><\/path><\/svg><\/path><\/svg><\/path><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n

    <\/p>\n

    Never miss any of the fun stuff. Get the biggest stories and wackiest takes from the Daily Star, including our special WTF Wednesday email<\/p>\n

    Thank you for subscribing!<\/h2>\n

    Never miss any of the fun stuff. Get the biggest stories and wackiest takes from the Daily Star, including our special WTF Wednesday email<\/p>\n

    We have more newsletters<\/p>\n

    'Britain's shoplifting capital' has reported soaring crime levels, with Greggs outlets even installing panic alarms after having \u00a3200 worth of donuts and sausage rolls nicked in one day.<\/p>\n

    Cleveland in North Yorkshire boasts the highest shoplifting rate in the country, which police reckon is fuelled by drug addicts openly selling their stolen stash. The area from Hartlepool to Stockton-on-Tees has 15 times as many thefts each year as Surrey as thieves pocket pricey items like meat and washing powder to hock the goods to people struggling to pay supermarket prices.<\/p>\n

    READ MORE: Inside 'Holiday Bay' prison with more than 100 escapes as inmates 'on the run'<\/b><\/p>\n

    For the latest news from the Daily Star, click here.<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

    A Cleveland Police officer told The Mirror: "Shop owners are beyond sick and tired. They\u2019re losing thousands of pounds and there\u2019s very little they can do to stop it."<\/p>\n

    <\/p>\n

    Police work around the clock to catch criminals but are fight a losing battle with lags reoffending the moment they're released from prison. Locating them is also a challenge with many postcode-hopping to avoid detection.<\/p>\n

    Statistics reveal shoplifting offences in England and Wales rocketed in the last year. Some 365,164 thefts were recorded by police in the year to June, up 25% on the previous 12 months. <\/p>\n

    <\/p>\n

    The rise has been much higher in the northeast. At a Greggs branch on Middlesbrough High Street, staff now wear panic buzzers to alert colleagues if a violent thief enters the shop.<\/p>\n

    Manager Lynne, who has seen the violence first-hand, said: "It\u2019s rife, they\u2019ll come in and help themselves to the sandwiches, they\u2019ll take the doughnuts, they\u2019ll take a handful of sausage rolls. It\u2019s absolutely disgusting."<\/span><\/p>\n

    <\/p>\n

    In Eston, Middlesbrough, the situation is so bad the local Tesco Express has to lock the doors in the evening and allow entry through a buzzer system. Staff have also permanently barricaded one of the doors because thieves took advantage of the easy exit.<\/p>\n

    She said: \u201cIt\u2019s incredibly frustrating and a massive, massive issue \u2013 it\u2019s probably something you deal with five to seven times a day. You\u2019re also constantly assaulted."<\/p>\n

    For more incredible stories from the Daily Star, make sure you sign up to one of our newsletters <\/i>here.<\/b><\/p>\n