Supermarkets have enlisted staff to protect expensive cuts of meat due to increased shoplifting sparked by the cost-of-living crisis, according to a new report. 

The upmarket stores in Maidenhead were forced to act after losing ‘thousands of pounds worth of stock’ every week.

The Berkshire town’s manager Robyn Bunyan said the significant spike in thefts suffered by major retailers is thought to have been brought about by rising food costs.

A combination of the Covid-19 pandemic and the war in Ukraine has caused staggeringly high inflation, which has sent the price of groceries rising at the fastest rate since the global financial crisis in 2008.

Ms Bunyan said supermarkets had been forced to employ ‘meat monitors’ to watch over expensive cuts, with the town’s larger stores such as Waitrose and Marks & Spencer said to be most impacted.

Ms Bunyan told a town meeting this week the shoplifting issue was becoming ‘huge’, according to the Maidenhead Advertiser.

She added that while it was not a fresh concern, Maidenhead has ‘issues’ with shoplifting and anti-social behaviour. 

‘It is an issue that has continued for many years, we are experiencing a vast spike in that,’ Ms Bunyan said. 

‘This is a high-value issue that is unfortunately not going to disappear.’

Thames Valley Police’s engagement officer Jeff Pick also told councillors that shops often do not bother to pursue criminal charges due to the length of time it takes to find and prosecute offenders. 

The forum heard that criminals were ‘bold’ and would threaten staff if they were stopped from leaving a store with stolen products.

Metro.co.uk has contacted Waitrose and Marks & Spencer for comment.

Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at [email protected].For more stories like this, check our news page.

Source: Read Full Article