Lancashire Police officers are reporting a month-on-month increase in the shoplifting of basic foodstuffs as families struggle
Starving families are being forced to shoplift so they can put food on the
table, says one of Britain’s top police officers.
He says they’re so desperate that they are stealing basics like meat and cheese.
Lancashire Chief Constable Steve Finnigan said: “With regards shoplifting, we are seeing an increase.
“The offenders are very often first-time offenders and when you talk to them, they are not doing this to sell stuff on.
“The stuff they talk about is food stuff.
“It is very often meat and cheese they are stealing and it is for themselves and their family.”
He said there had been a spike in shoplifting cases where thieves had taken grocery items.
The rise has also been noticed by shop owners and food banks, who said people were reaching crisis point.
Lancashire Police said it was unable to provide statistics, but officers were reporting a month-on-month increase in this type of shoplifting.
Ros Duerden, from Blackburn Food Bank, said people were turning to crime because they were to "ashamed" to admit they needed help.
She said: “A question at the back of our minds when we are deciding whether or not to issue vouchers is whether people are going to be pushed into shoplifting.
“For some people it is also an issue of shame.
“They do not want to come to a food bank and they will not necessarily ask for help.
“They would rather go shoplifting because they think they can do that in secret.”
Cases that have passed through magistrates’ courts in the county in the past few weeks include a 27-year-old woman, who stole a Greggs tuna baguette worth £1.85, a man who took joints of meat from an ASDA store and a 60-year-old man who stole instant mash and cheese from Iceland worth just £4.
Eileen Ansar, who volunteers with the food bank in Pendle, said: “People are getting so desperate that they are turning to crime.
“You cannot blame them, all they want to do is feed their children.
“It is a sorry state and there is a crisis.
“This situation is turning us back to the ‘50s and ‘60s.”
Ken Kay, manager of The Kay Group, which runs 12 garages and service stations across the North West, including in Blackburn, Bacup, Burnley and Darwen said: “We have a constant issue and there are people who need to steal to keep going.”
Jatinder Sirpal, manager of the Gill Off-licence, in Blackburn, said he was having to think of new measures to crack down on shoplifting.
He said: “Sometime people take things and run away.
“We used to keep the door open, but now we close it because they could do it very easily.
“Sometimes they take chocolate or a packet of crisps and we do see more of it now.
“The big problem is people are struggling with money and I think it is very sad.
“People have got no money and so they are forced into taking like this. It is very bad.”
Demand for help from Preston’s food banks has more than doubled in the last year.
The Salvation Army says it is now handing out more than 300 parcels a month to hungry families in the city.
In August last year, 60 emergency parcels were handed out. By February, that figure had reached 134 and just three months later it was up to 220.
Volunteers at the charity are now dealing with every section of society, including single parents, families, and people struggling to get jobs.
Two months ago the Trussell Trust, which runs 400 food banks in the UK, reported a 21% rise in the number of people who said they did not have enough money for food because of problems with benefits.
“A clear link” exists between the reforms and the increasing popularity of food banks, the Trust’s boss Chris Mould said.
The Trussell Trust calculated that it had helped more than 150,000 people in the three months from April to July, which is the month when changes to the benefits system kicked in.
This represents an increase of 200% on the same three months last year.
It said that 52% of the people it had helped said they turned to food banks because of problems with benefits, an increase of 21% on the previous year.
Snapshot figures from 18 food banks around the country show that all have seen demand rise during the school summer break.
In Grantham, Lincolnshire, the food bank gave parcels to 219 people in July, a 61 per cent increase on the previous month.
In Redcar, Teesside, the increase from June to July was 71 per cent, while Dundee’s food bank gave out 538 food parcels in July, a 43 per cent increase on June.
He says they’re so desperate that they are stealing basics like meat and cheese.
Lancashire Chief Constable Steve Finnigan said: “With regards shoplifting, we are seeing an increase.
“The offenders are very often first-time offenders and when you talk to them, they are not doing this to sell stuff on.
“The stuff they talk about is food stuff.
“It is very often meat and cheese they are stealing and it is for themselves and their family.”
He said there had been a spike in shoplifting cases where thieves had taken grocery items.
The rise has also been noticed by shop owners and food banks, who said people were reaching crisis point.
Lancashire Police said it was unable to provide statistics, but officers were reporting a month-on-month increase in this type of shoplifting.
Ros Duerden, from Blackburn Food Bank, said people were turning to crime because they were to "ashamed" to admit they needed help.
She said: “A question at the back of our minds when we are deciding whether or not to issue vouchers is whether people are going to be pushed into shoplifting.
“For some people it is also an issue of shame.
“They do not want to come to a food bank and they will not necessarily ask for help.
“They would rather go shoplifting because they think they can do that in secret.”
Cases that have passed through magistrates’ courts in the county in the past few weeks include a 27-year-old woman, who stole a Greggs tuna baguette worth £1.85, a man who took joints of meat from an ASDA store and a 60-year-old man who stole instant mash and cheese from Iceland worth just £4.
Eileen Ansar, who volunteers with the food bank in Pendle, said: “People are getting so desperate that they are turning to crime.
“You cannot blame them, all they want to do is feed their children.
“It is a sorry state and there is a crisis.
“This situation is turning us back to the ‘50s and ‘60s.”
Ken Kay, manager of The Kay Group, which runs 12 garages and service stations across the North West, including in Blackburn, Bacup, Burnley and Darwen said: “We have a constant issue and there are people who need to steal to keep going.”
Jatinder Sirpal, manager of the Gill Off-licence, in Blackburn, said he was having to think of new measures to crack down on shoplifting.
He said: “Sometime people take things and run away.
“We used to keep the door open, but now we close it because they could do it very easily.
“Sometimes they take chocolate or a packet of crisps and we do see more of it now.
“The big problem is people are struggling with money and I think it is very sad.
“People have got no money and so they are forced into taking like this. It is very bad.”
Demand for help from Preston’s food banks has more than doubled in the last year.
The Salvation Army says it is now handing out more than 300 parcels a month to hungry families in the city.
In August last year, 60 emergency parcels were handed out. By February, that figure had reached 134 and just three months later it was up to 220.
Volunteers at the charity are now dealing with every section of society, including single parents, families, and people struggling to get jobs.
Two months ago the Trussell Trust, which runs 400 food banks in the UK, reported a 21% rise in the number of people who said they did not have enough money for food because of problems with benefits.
“A clear link” exists between the reforms and the increasing popularity of food banks, the Trust’s boss Chris Mould said.
The Trussell Trust calculated that it had helped more than 150,000 people in the three months from April to July, which is the month when changes to the benefits system kicked in.
This represents an increase of 200% on the same three months last year.
It said that 52% of the people it had helped said they turned to food banks because of problems with benefits, an increase of 21% on the previous year.
Snapshot figures from 18 food banks around the country show that all have seen demand rise during the school summer break.
In Grantham, Lincolnshire, the food bank gave parcels to 219 people in July, a 61 per cent increase on the previous month.
In Redcar, Teesside, the increase from June to July was 71 per cent, while Dundee’s food bank gave out 538 food parcels in July, a 43 per cent increase on June.
Mirror Online
