Crisis fuels rise in shoplifting

MORE people are turning to shoplifting to get clothes and essential daily food items such as meat and baby milk, according to a new report.

The research by retail security expert Checkpoint Systems found a 3.6% increase in reported thefts from shops in France between July 2008 and July 2009 - representing about €5bn in lost sales.

Although high-value, easy to resell items such as razor blades, DVDs and bottles of whisky continued to be popular targets for shoplifters, day-to-day items are also creeping up the list.

C&A security Denis Marziac told Le Parisien: "Today shoplifters are not just taking leather, cashmere and expensive dresses, but also €5 T-shirts."

The report said that the economic crisis was contributing to the rise, but was not the only explanation.

Store thefts were in steady decline for 15 years until 2007, prompting retailers to scale back on the amount they spent on security. This could explain why incidents are on the rise again.