Silent Crime: Shopkeeper reveals harsh reality of shoplifting in the West Midlands
A shopkeeper has said more needs to be done to stem shoplifting as shop theft crime figures hit their highest level for two decades.
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"Even stealing just a small thing means we have to sell double for the day to make up the loss." those are the words of Surinder Josan, owner of All Seasons DIY on Smethwick High Street.
Surinder is one of many shop owners calling for more action locally and nationally to reduce the amount of petty crime targeting retailers.
He tells his story as the Express and Star launches a campaign against the epidemic of Silent Crime - the thousands of incidents that are happening every day across the West Midlands, many of which are going unreported to police including shoplifting , abuse in the street, threats, small items being stolen and more.
Our campaign is part of a launch across Britain headed up by our sister website NationalWorld. You can find out more about it in the dedicated section below.
Surinder's call for action comes as figures have revealed a sharp 30 per cent increase in shoplifting cases in the West Midlands between April and June, with the area reporting a total of 7,443 offences.
Describing an incident recently, Surinder, 60, from Smethwick, chair of the legal and parliamentary committee for the British Independent Retailer Association (BIRA), said: "I looked out the window and there was this person walking off with some fruit trees that were being sold from a grocery shop on the high street.
"They had obviously stolen them, we ended up finding the man and said 'look, stay away, we don't want you here' we haven't seem him since, but it is something that we shouldn't have to deal with ourselves."
The shop owner said that the impact of theft from family-owned shops is 'worse than it looks', saying that "It affects us worse than anyone realises."
