Shropshire-founded frozen food firm Iceland offers cash incentive to report shoplifters - but it's just £1
The boss of a Shropshire-founded frozen food business says shoplifting is costing his firm more than £20 million a year - and wants customers to help put an end to it.
Iceland Foods executive chairman Richard Walker says the company will give customers a cash equivalent of £1 to anyone who helps them catch a shoplifter, set to be redeemed via the company's bonus card scheme.
Mr Walker said the company, which started with a single store in Oswestry in 1970, was losing "over £20m a year" to shoplifting offences, and later issued a statement confirming that the reward scheme would go live almost immediately.
"The scourge of shoplifting on our high streets continues to plague the UK, and the problem is only worsening, with criminal activity spreading across, not just big cities, but our market towns and villages too," he said.
"In order to combat any activity in Iceland stores, we’re encouraging our loyal customers to help sound the alarm, and if they do help to catch a shoplifter, we’ll top up their Bonus Card to spend in store."
Last month, new Government figures showed shoplifting had increased by 20 per cent to 530,643 offences over the past year, although levels of shoplifting fell across the West Mercia force area by around 4 per cent in the same period.
A total of 9,346 shoplifting incidents took place in the force area, which covers Shropshire, Herefordshire and Worcestershire.
Andrew Goodacre, CEO of the British Independent Retailers Association, said last month that the figures reflected the "sad daily reality" faced by retailers on Britain's high streets.
"Retail crime continues to be a significant challenge affecting businesses and communities alike," he said.
"Whilst we recognise that the higher numbers partly reflect improved reporting by retailers, we believe this still represents only the tip of the iceberg, with many incidents continuing to go unreported. The problem is clearly getting worse and requires urgent, sustained action.
"Independent retailers are investing millions of pounds in security measures to deter criminals, but we need to see meaningful action taken against perpetrators when they are caught. A fast-track court process would send a clear message that retail crime will not be tolerated. All too often, criminals are left waiting extended periods before appearing in court, free to continue targeting the very streets they are stealing from."
