Shop owners hope that tech can deter thieves

Furtos em lojas s?o problemas n?o apenas aqui no Brasil: acontece no mundo todo! O lado bom é que a tecnologia vem ajudando a diminuir esses incidentes. Quer saber como?

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Level Intermediate to Advanced

Isabella Day founded her jewellery shop, The Remarkable Goldsmiths, in Dartmouth just two years ago. Since then they’ve had around ￡3,000 worth of goods stolen. We’re in a difficult position,” she says. “My partner’s very unwell. We are a family business, a small business. Literally everything we make in the shop, we haven’t been paid for until someone buys it. So, it has a big impact when someone steals something. We make everything from scratch. We make all our own gold alloys, in 28 different colours – grey, gold, green-gold, peach.” Despite her high-value goods, Ms Day is reluctant to lock her door to customers. “I really want it to be welcoming. I don’t want to be a ‘buzz people in’ kind of jewellery shop,” she says. “I just think it stops people coming in to look.” In the summer months, tourists come to Dartmouth. This is when Ms Day’s shop is at its busiest. “They don’t come in to spend money,” she says. “They come in to have a look around, and then they’re like ‘oh, this is so pretty!’, and they accidentally spend some money. I don’t think those people would come in at all if you had to buzz in.” Ms Day keeps her products in cabinets and in the window, with a few items out for people to pick up. Following the first theft, however, they had an alarm system fitted, with a panic button that immediately alerts a security company and the police, and cameras with signs up on the walls to say they have CCTV. “We also put a really ringy bell on the door!” She adds. But the best piece of tech they have invested in, she says, is a simple doorbell style camera that sits on the counter. “It’s really high quality footage and records the whole shop,” she says. Following the most recent theft of a necklace worth ￡685, the police identified the thief using footage from the doorbell camera – and made an arrest. In the year to June 2023, the police recorded a 25% increase in shoplifting in England and Wales, and across the UK retail theft costs an estimated ￡953m – despite over ￡700m in crime prevention spending by retailers. Meanwhile, in the US retail crime cost the industry more than $112bn in 2022 – losses which push up retailers’ operating costs and consequently increase prices for customers. Retailers are taking all sorts of measures to deter shoplifters, including funding a police surveillance project, hiring undercover guards to patrol shop floors and even offering free coffees to police officers to tempt them into their stores. “The criminals are not worried about consequence. They’re not worried about any response or prosecution,” says Steven Logue, the Co-op’s head of operations. This lack of repercussions, says Mr Logue, is likely the catalyst for what has been a “staggering” rise in thefts over the past year. “We have a stock loss of about ￡80m a year,” he says, “but we are only reporting a fraction of what has been stolen. The unpalatable truth is that the response really hasn’t been good enough in the last few years. So, these numbers are just the tip of the iceberg.” This year, the Co-op has already recorded a quarter of a million claims, with a thousand physical assaults, says Mr Logue. This is not a victimless crime. “We see our colleagues trapped within kiosks, while [criminals] help themselves to cigarettes and alcohol,” says Mr Logue. “These are people’s mothers, daughters, brothers.”

Level Basic to Pre-Intermediate

Isabella Day started The Remarkable Goldsmiths in Dartmouth two years ago. They’ve faced theft, totaling around ￡3,000. Isabella, dealing with family health problems, emphasizes the impact on their small business where they sell jewelry. Despite thefts, Isabella wants her shop to be welcoming and dislikes locking doors, fearing it can deter customers. Isabella uses cabinets, window displays, and a few accessible items and after the thefts, she added security measures like alarms, cameras, and a doorbell-style camera. The recent ￡685 necklace robbery was solved using the doorbell camera footage, leading to an arrest. Shoplifting increased by 25% in England and Wales, costing UK retail ￡953m. In the US, retail crime cost over $112bn in 2022. Retailers take various measures, from tech safety tools to hiring guards. The police head of operations, Steven Logue, notes a lack of consequences contributing to a significant rise in thefts. They’ve had a quarter of a million claims and a thousand physical assaults this year. Steven highlights a personal situation, with colleagues trapped during thefts. Retail theft is a crime that′s affecting people’s families and lives.

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