Silent Crime: Watch as Sunderland shopkeeper reveals how traders have resorted to tackling shoplifters themselves

Martin Pasmoor, 43, is assistant manager at Robson’s Food Store in Chester Road, Sunderland. He said he has seen “big increase” in the number of shoplifting incidents in the 20 years he has worked at the shop.

Martin said: “We have already had over 50 incidents of shoplifting this year. The worst time for being targeted tends to be around lunchtime when shoplifters come in with staff from the hospital who are on breaks.

“We are busy and the shoplifters obviously feel less likely to be seen. We end up losing into the high hundreds of pounds each year due to thefts. We need to make that money up which results in prices sometimes having to be put up.”

However, it’s not just the volume of incidents which has changed but also the type of shoplifters and products being targeted.

Martin said: “Shops on Chester Road are now being targeted by gangs who work together. One will stand on the street corner as a look out, another person will come into the shop and someone else will hold the door open for them to run out.

“We still get targeted by individual shoplifters - you can tell by the type of items they steal. But we are now seeing quantities of unusual products being stolen which I assume the gangs are looking to sell on. We recently had £40 worth of toilet rolls stolen and jars of coffee also seem to be be popular at the moment.”

Martin used to report the incidents to the police but in recent years feels “there is no longer any point” as it’s “a waste of time”.

He added: “Apart from when we were burgled, the police would never come out, even though we had footage of the shoplifters on CCTV. You would get a crime reference number and that seemed to be it. If people do get arrested, nothing seems to happen to them.

“A couple of weeks later the same people are back on the street shoplifting. You do get quiet weeks but as soon as these people appear back on Chester Road then the shops are constantly getting targeted.”

Martin believes the red tape of reporting shoplifting is also impacting on the number of crimes being reported. He said: “Each time you have a shoplifting incident the police send a series of forms which need to be filled in. It’s happening that often that shopkeepers simply don’t have the time to keep filling in all these forms.”

It’s got to the point where Martin says he and other shopkeepers are “trying to police things ourselves”.

He said: “There’s one incident recently when someone was doing their shopping with a basket and suddenly ran out of the door. Myself and the manager chased him down the street. We eventually caught up with him and he dropped the basket and ran off down a side street.”

However such situations don’t come without risk.

Martin added: “We gave chase, but you don’t know what he could be carrying. He could have a knife or another weapon. When I’ve challenged people in the shop they’ve threatened to ‘punch my face in’ and in one instance one person threatened to ‘burn my house down’ - not what you want to hear when you have a daughter at home. It has got to the point where I do worry about my safety at work.”

To help support each other with the threat of shoplifting and antisocial behaviour, traders have set up their own Business Watch Group, sharing photographs of known shoplifters and warning each other when known perpetrators are seen in the vicinity.

The group was set up by Nigel Marston, business partner at Jayne Prior Funeral Directors, which is also based in Chester Road.

In his previous career Nigel spent 20 years working as a senior trainer in crime prevention at Northumbria Police and was keen to use his skills to support his fellow business owners.

Nigel, 57, said: “Shoplifting is a massive problem on Chester Road. The WhatsApp group is all about getting people working in collaboration. Most of the shoplifters are well known and as soon as one of these people is seen in the area then we can let each other know. If necessary, we can also share photographs.”

Explaining why traders are no longer regularly reporting shoplifting, Nigel added: “There’s no doubt the police are under resourced. When I speak to shopkeepers there’s a lot of apathy at the moment with local shopkeepers who don’t feel anything will be done by the police. They also say they don’t have the time to keep filling in the forms they are asked to complete.

“However, when I speak with people in the police they say unless people report it and fill in these forms then there is not a lot they can do - it’s a vicious circle.”

In terms of tackling shoplifters, Martin feels harsher sentences and a more visible police presence is the answer.

He said: “There needs to be longer sentencing. If people are properly punished they are less likely to do it again. In the summer you might see the odd community police officer on Chester Road. We need to see police officers on the beat, particularly around the times when most of the shoplifting tends to take place.”

The Echo put the issues raised to Northumbria Police.

A police spokesperson responded: “We understand and recognise the impact that shoplifting can have on businesses and our wider communities. In order to further protect shop staff, support business owners and reassure everyone who works within the retail industry, we recently made some changes to strengthen our response to this type of offending.

“As part of these changes, we are actively targeting prolific offenders and are also looking to problem solve with retailers to reduce the volume of their offending. In line with national guidance, we also assess incidents in relation to threat, harm and risk with the appropriate resources then allocated. This ultimately helps ensure we can get to those who need us most as quickly as possible."

They added: “We would always encourage anyone who is a victim of crime to report it to us either via sending us a direct message on social media or using the live chat function on our website. Alternatively, use the ‘Report’ page of our website.

“For those unable to contact us those ways, please call 101. In an emergency or if a crime is taking place, always ring 999.”

Martin and Nigel were speaking to the Echo as part of our National World Silent Crime campaign, run by the Echo’s parent company, to shine a light on the growing number of crimes going unreported to the police by people losing faith in the justice system, and to enable their voices to be heard.

To force change, we need to unite and remind ourselves that these 'little' crimes are not acceptable.

You should be safe and feel safe at work, at home, in the park and in your own neighbourhoods. We need you to tell us your stories and we, on your behalf, will take them to Downing Street. We need to stop being silent and we need you to help us.

To tell your story go to: https://submit.nationalworld.com/