Shoplifting on the rise in East Yorkshire and Northern Lincolnshire
Shoplifting is having an impact on staff's mental health.
Retail trade union Usdaw says it is concerned about the welfare of retail staff amid a rise in shoplifting.
In the 12 months to September 2023, Humberside Police recorded an 18% increase in shoplifting increase. Shoplifting across Yorkshire as a whole went up by 26% in the same period.
Usdaw area organiser Kyla Parsons said: "People go to work to earn a living and to do their best for their customers - they don't go to work to be threatened and abused. It has a huge knock-on effect on their personal lives and their families.
"They are struggling an awful lot. The mental health issues that shop workers are having at the moment are increasing. The people I speak to are fearful because they don't know what's going to happen next."
Usdaw's 2023 survey found that 60% of incidents of violence, threats and abuse were triggered by shoplifting and armed robbery.
David Hooper from Hull and Humber Chamber of Commerce said: "A lot of shops are struggling to make ends meet at the minute. Footfall's down in a lot of city centres in the region and this isn't going to help. We need people to go into shops and buy things rather than trying to steal them."
"If it's a fine line between opening next week and not, if they're losing a lot to shoplifting that's not going to help at all. We don't want to lose any more shops from our town and city centres."
Superintendent Sharon Philpott said: “We have seen a small increase in shoplifting offences, as have many forces nationally.
“The impact that shoplifting can have should not be underestimated. There is the financial loss, which can be devastating for some businesses, but also the impact on staff members.
“We have previously had shopworkers reporting feeling distressed and afraid when they are at work, as a result of shoplifting offences that they have encountered.
“We work very closely with businesses in our area when it comes to tackling shoplifting. This partnership work, coupled with recent improvements in reporting systems, helps us to understand the wider picture and the context around shoplifting offences in our area.
“As a force, we have a range of tactics in place to help tackle shoplifting offences. This includes offering security advice to businesses, having uniformed officers patrolling in key retail areas and applying for criminal behaviour orders to prevent reoffending.”