Retail staff in Bromley town centre say shoplifting is “rife” with big chains such as Boots having thousands of pounds worth of goods stolen each day.
While Bromley is statistically one of the safest boroughs in London, it falls short when it comes to shoplifting where the crime rate is 20 per cent higher than the capital’s average.
A Boots employee told the News Shopper: “It’s a daily occurrence. All day every day. People come in and steal hundreds at a time.
"The shop loses thousands of pounds worth of stuff a day.
“It does put you off working here, especially when the number of staff in shops is shrinking. We can’t have eyes everywhere and it’s constant.”
“We’d often get people coming in and stealing a whole shelf of sandwiches. The policy was not to confront so you’d just watch as it happened,” she said.
She believes shoplifting is on the rise in the town centre with big chains such as TK Maxx, M&S and Boots worst affected.
Sadie said: “We have a radio we use to contact police and over the last few weeks and months it’s going off all the time.
“The other day I heard one shop report that £1,500 worth of stuff had been stolen, it’s crazy that there’s some guy walking down the high street with £1,500 of stolen goods on him.”
While chains with high value goods are the most targeted, independents like Lolli’s do see their fair share of shoplifters.
“People get very aggressive when they’re caught. Our policy is to make eye contact and speak to them but if people get aggressive or violent we just get on the radio because I’m not putting myself in harm’s way,” Donna said.
“I think it’s mostly drug fueled or because of the cost of living. It’s definitely on the rise because we constantly hear it on the radio.”
Bromley’s neighbourhood policing boss, Superintendent Luke Baldock, recently told the News Shopper his team will crack down on the “scourge of shoplifting”.
“Shoplifting is an Achilles’ heel because if you stop shoplifting you can stop the violence that stems from shoplifting,” he said.
“Retail crime is a real scourge. Shoplifters don’t just steal, they bring intimidation and violence.
"64 per cent of retail workers in the UK are women, so women are disproportionately experiencing that.”
Officers said they’re frequently called to shops as a preventative measure when known offenders are seen entering.
Many of the retail staff the News Shopper spoke to said repeat offenders are the biggest problem, with the same people terrorising shops on a daily basis.
One of the tools used to tackle repeat offenders are Criminal Behaviour Orders (CBOs) which can ban people from the town centre, though these have to be issued by a court rather than police.
Superintendent Baldock said his force in recent months his force have successfully applied for four CBOs which ban offenders from the town centre.
Bromley Town Centre Inspector Andy Buckley agreed that it was a real problem and said "worryingly” he believes many shop workers don’t report incidents as they see it as part of the job.
She said: “It’s always been there of course but there’s no doubt it’s on the rise recently, probably because of the cost of living. Just this morning I saw a bunch of flowers stolen.”
Gaetano, store manager at JD Sports, said their shop is targeted at least once a week.
“Most often the method is for two people to come in. One will find what they want to steal while the other will distract members of staff,” he said.
“It’s a real problem and it’s hard to know what to do about it.”
In the 12 months ending in June 2024 there were 2,119 shoplifting offences reported in Bromley borough, with 578 taking place in Bromley Town.
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