Now supermarket slaps security tags on toilet roll as shoplifting crisis intensifies
- Security tags were spotted on toilet rolls amid Britain’s shoplifting epidemic
Supermarkets are putting security tags on toilet roll a Britain’s shoplifting epidemic continues to spiral out of control.
Tags were seen on toilet rolls in a Tesco Express store in Bromley and Beckenham, south London, where the shoplifting rate is one of the highest in the country.
The tags are placed on the plastic wrapping of Andrex rolls, which cost £3.75 for four.
A customer who bought the rolls said: ‘We only realised the tags were on there when we left the store and the alarms went off, which was quite embarrassing.
Pictured, security tags spotted on Andrex toilet roll. It is just one of many essential items that have had tags added to them amid a shoplifting epidemic
The tags were spotted in in a Tesco Express store in Bromley and Beckenham, south London , where the shoplifting rate is one of the highest in the country
‘We had a look at what we’d bought in case we hadn’t paid for something or a tag had been left on, then we realised it had to be the loo rolls.
‘All we could think was if they’re putting tags on toilet roll, things must be bad.’
Loo roll has proven to be hugely sought-after item in the past – during the pandemic, people stockpiled toilet roll, stripping supermarket shelves as people bulk-bought ridiculous amounts.
Security tags on everyday items as shoplifting, razors pictured in a Tesco in Kilmarnock, Scotland
Supermarkets across the country are placing security tags on high value items inside their stores. Pictured, meat with security tags spotted in Aberdeen, Scotland
READ MORE: Bosses at nearly 90 retailers call for crackdown on brazen looters and thieves bringing chaos to our streets
Hundreds waited outside Costcos in Manchester, London and Southampton, while shelves were stripped of loo rolls at Poundland in Borehamwood, Hertfordshire in October 2020.
There has been a spike in shoplifting recently which is partly driven by the cost of living crisis.
TikTok has been singled out for encouraging people to loot certain stores.
Emmeline Taylor, a professor of criminology at City University, said criminal gangs are getting thieves to steal alcohol, baby formula, confectionary and meat swiped in bulk in order to be sold elsewhere.
In England and Wales, there were approximately 342,343 shoplifting offences recorded by the police in 2022/23, compared with 275,076 in the previous reporting year which is a rise of 24 per cent.
In Bromley South, which is close to the store but isn’t the same crime recording, the latest stats show there were 216 crimes per 1,000 people, with 20 per cent classed as shoplifting.
A woman is pictured panic buying toilet roll at Costco Manchester in October 2020, during the pandemic
Overall, shoplifting crime makes up 8 per cent of all crimes reported in the Bromley borough with 2,200, increasing by 10 per cent when compared year-on-year in the period August 2022 to July 2023.
That makes it the 14th worst out of 99 England and Wales postcode areas.
The toilet roll tags come after other items have been subject to extra security measures.
The Co-op has put empty coffee jars on shelves, with customers having to ask for the real deal if they want to make a purchase.
Honey, steak and cheese have been locked up or had tags added to their packaging.
Tesco was contacted for comment on Monday but has not responded.
READ MORE: Arrest thieves yourself if you see them taking foods in supermarkets, minister says as footage shows have-a-go heroes foiling Tesco ‘shoplifters’ on their lunch break
The shoplifting crisis has become so bad that even Asda chairman Lord Stuart Rose even went so far as to say that shoplifting has become ‘decriminalised’ thanks to the lack of police action.
Helen Dickinson, the chief executive of the British Retail Consortium (BRC), which helped in organising the letter to the Home Secretary, said: ‘It is vital that action is taken before the scourge of retail crime gets any worse. We are seeing organised gangs threatening staff with weapons and emptying stores.
‘We are seeing violence against colleagues who are doing their job and asking for age verification. We are seeing a torrent of abuse aimed at hard-working shop staff.
‘It’s simply unacceptable – no one should have to go to work fearing for their safety.
‘We need Government to stand with the millions of retail workers who kept us safe and fed during the pandemic – and support them, as those workers supported us.’
The rise in shoplifting and assaults on staff has forced many large retailers to take drastic action.
Tesco’s managing director Ken Murphy said last month that all the supermarket chain’s frontline workers will be offered body cameras following a surge in violent attacks. He said more than 200 of its staff are victims of serious physical assaults each month.
One shocking video showed a thug lunging at a Tesco worker with a knife after a supermarket worker bravely wrestled stolen goods off him. The attacker, Josh James, was jailed for eight years following a six-month crime spree.
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