EXCLUSIVE: Big rise in shoplifting reports across North Yorkshire
Businesses have told us the cost of living is partly to blame
There's been a big rise in reports of shoplifting across North Yorkshire.
Exclusive figures show 3316 cases have been logged by the police so far this year.
That's already more than in the whole of 2022 when the total came to 3285.
"It's just awful - work is meant to be a safe place to be"
David Skaith owns Winstons of York Clothing shop and is also chair of the High Street forum: "A lot of time it is petty theft but it does add up, we are finding that particularly the cost of living crisis, these kind of things going on, people are getting slightly more desperate so they are turning to stealing from shops, obviously not just clothing, but food and drink, these kind of things."
"We have to spend more on security on staff and cameras and these kind of things and a lot of time small shops don't have that kind of money. It's just awful isn't it you come in to your business, it's your place, it's a place you love being and people are coming in and stealing things, it's just awful."
"It's the cost of having extra staff in, cameras in, it just becomes quite expensive, you just go if it's a little bit of theft here, is it worth ignoring it, because the cost of solving that problem but over a long period of that time those thefts do add up and it's just not very nice to have people stealing things from your shop."
As well as hitting businesses hard David says the experience can be really frightening for staff: "We know in the past we've heard of people going in and being very aggressive, stealing handbags and stealing clothes and just running out and obviously it must be really intimidating to have that in your place of business in your place of work it's meant to be a safe place to be."
The High Street Forum say extra cameras and lighting have recently been installed in the City Centre but they are encouraging all owners to report any thefts to the police.