Police blame credit crunch as shoplifting rises by 30%

POLICE chiefs are linking the credit crunch with the soaring numbers of thefts from shops in the Lothians.

New figures showed a 30 per cent rise in shoplifting offences in the Capital between April and December last year, against the same period in 2007.

Officers believe the economic downturn could be partly responsible for the increase in store thefts.

But the rise has also coincided with a police crackdown on shoplifting in Edinburgh city centre, as extra officers are deployed in the area to catch thieves.

Inspector Gavin Phillip, from the West End station, said: "It's not just in Edinburgh city centre that we've seen an increase in the number of shoplifters.

"It's a trend that is being seen throughout the UK.

"The credit crunch, with people having less money in their pockets, may be a factor behind that.

"We've also increased co-operation with store owners, so they are reporting more offences where, in previous years, they may not have bothered. Although that drives up the number of offences recorded, we need to have that accurate picture of what's going on. That way we can direct our resources appropriately and make more arrests."

Officers have boosted co-operation between the force and store bosses in a bid to identify and arrest serial offenders, as well as making shops more difficult targets.

The police blitz resulted in a big increase in the number of shoplifters caught over the Christmas period in particular, with 87 per cent of city centre cases resulting in an arrest during December. The average rate for the rest of 2008 was 68 per cent.

Senior officers plan to maintain the festive clampdown over the coming months in an effort to catch even more culprits.

Police recorded 3997 shoplifting offences between April and December in the Lothians, compared with a total of 3219 for the same period the year before – a 25 per cent increase. In Edinburgh, the figure was 3005 against 2303 – a jump of 30 per cent.

Insp Phillip said work to identify serial offenders allowed the force to apply for bail exclusion zones when the thieves appeared in court. The orders can ban them from entering the city centre under threat of arrest.

After analysing hotspots, the new exclusion zone, which includes busy shopping spots such as Princes Street, George Street, Lothian Road and Multrees Walk, was created.

Insp Phillip added: "We've been putting higher numbers of both uniformed and plain-clothes officers into the city centre and that is having an impact."

Denzil Skinner, spokesman for the George Street Traders' Association, said: "Obviously shoplifting is a concern and we just have to be more vigilant.

"We know through our reports from the police that they take the matter very seriously and they've endeavoured to increase their presence in the city centre.

"With regards to hiring more security staff, individual retailers will react to their own needs accordingly. Some stores, because of their layout, are more open to clever shoplifters than others."