Moment ITV News cameras catch thief trying to steal booze from south London store as reporter interviews shopkeeper about shoplifting epidemic
A shameless thief was caught on camera trying to steal booze while an ITV journalist interviewed the store's owner about Britain's shoplifting epidemic.
The footage was filmed in a shop in Croydon, south London, and captured the moment the brazen thief attempted to barge his way past the camera crew.
Wearing a camouflage coat, the man is caught on CCTV casually wandering down an aisle before then taking a bottle of alcohol and shoving it in his pocket.
Remarkably, as this was happening, live CCTV footage of the shoplifter was playing in the background while an ITV journalist interviewed shopkeeper Ben Selvaratnam.
'I think he's... I think he's stealing,' a woman is heard saying, before the camera pans around and films the man being confronted by shop staff.
The man was caught on CCTV trying to steal two bottles of alcohol from the south London shop
Remarkably, as this was happening, live CCTV footage of the shoplifter is playing in the background as an ITV journalist interviews shopkeeper Ben Selvaratnam (pictured)
The camera then pans around to capture the moment the man, wearing a camouflage coat, attempts to leave the shop
'I'm going to pay for it in a minute, bro,' says the man before handing two bottles of beer over and demanding the shop worker 'moves' out of his way as he leaves empty-handed.
Speaking to ITV News afterwards Mr Selvaratnam said: 'They're so brazen that no one's going to challenge them.'
'They're clearly getting away with it, that's what it tells me. So when we're challenging them, it's almost like "what are you doing? You won't need to challenge us. We're used to just walking in and out".'
Retail bosses say they are powerless to stop shoplifters from running riot in their stores.
Police chiefs have increasingly come under fire for the apparent lack of action in tackling the looting epidemic blighting stores, with the chairman of Asda this month saying shoplifting had essentially been 'decriminalised'.
The British Retail Consortium (BRC) said this summer shoplifting had risen 27 per cent across ten of the largest cities in the UK, with some cities up as much as 68 per cent.
It estimates that shops lost £953million to customer theft last year - the greatest loss on record in recent years.
And official statistics published by the Office for National Statistics show that shoplifting rose 24 per cent between March 2022 and March 2023.
The camera crew continues to film as the man is confronted by a shop worker while another customer looks on
After handing over the two bottles, the man then leaves the store
Heartless thieves are even targeting charity shops - with 80 per cent of non-profits reporting a rise in thefts of donated goods.
Shops are now having to take desperate measures to deter thieves - from installing facial recognition cameras to locking up baby formula.
Staff at supermarket chains Aldi, Waitrose, the Co-op, Morrisons and Tesco, are being given body-worn cameras as retailers seek to boost security measures.
But the Co-op has gone further, hiring their own private security - made of police and army veterans - to work undercover to protect their stores.
It comes as one of the retailer's most senior executive told MailOnline that police are ignoring up 80 per cent of shoplifting cases.
The chain has witnessed a 41 per cent rise in incidents of shoplifting in the first eight months of the year compared to the last, MailOnline revealed last week.
Paul Gerrard, the firm's campaigns and public affairs director, said the number of cases of violence being used against staff had also increased by 25 per cent.
The Co-op recently revealed it had invested in undercover security guards who perform citizen's arrests on thieves.
But Mr Gerrard - who used to work in law enforcement - admitted that in the majority of cases they had to be let go because officers never turn up.
'These are highly trained expert guards - often ex-police and ex-forces - who work undercover in stores where there's a particular problem,' he told MailOnline.
'They will intervene and make a citizen's arrest and detain the individual. But even in those cases when we've detained an offender and called for police assistance the police don't attend in 80 per cent of cases.
Co-op has previously released footage of its staff grappling with shoplifters in stores
Team leader Charlene Corbin was bottled by a shoplifter at the Co-op where she works
'That's despite us having the offender in our control in the store, with CCTV evidence.
'We'll keep them until we know if the police are going to turn up or not - that could be 15 minutes or an hour.
'But if they're not going to turn up they let them go.
'In some ways it's even worse than not intervening in the first place because they know that even if they're caught they can still get out.'
Mr Gerrard is the latest retail executive to warn of a dramatic increase in shoplifting across the UK high street, which John Lewis chair Sharon White recently described as an 'epidemic'.
He continued: 'We are running at about a thousand incidents of shoplifting a day across our two and a half thousand stores.
'Four or five colleagues will be physically attacked every day. We've seen syringes, knives and we even saw a medieval mace a couple of years ago.
'This isn't just a bit of pushing and shoving - it's serious violence leading to broken bones.
'What's behind the increase isn't opportunism. The majority of the rise is down to gangs and individuals who are targeting our stores to steal large volumes of products.'
Pictured is the wound Ms Corbin sustained after being bottled by a thief at her store
Paul Gerrard, the Co-op's campaigns and public affairs director, said there has been a 41 per cent rise in incidents of shoplifting in the first eight months of the year
The BRC added that incidents of violence and abuse against retail staff have nearly doubled from more than 450 per day in 2019/2020 to more than 850 last year - with crimes including racial or sexual abuse, assault and threats with weapons.
Earlier this month it was revealed ten of Britain's top retailers agreed to fund a police crackdown on shoplifting gangs - by paying cops to scan faces of thieves using CCTV.
High street giants including John Lewis, Co-op, Tesco, Sainsbury's, Waitrose and Next are among those reportedly pumping £600,000 into the operation, dubbed Project Pegasus.
In return, police forces will run CCTV images of suspected shoplifters through the national database, which includes the latest facial recognition technology.
The introduction of Project Pegasus has since been hailed as a 'game-changer' by police chiefs, who claim it will give them a national picture of where shoplifting gangs are operating and the stores they are targeting.
A shoplifter has a tug of war with a Co-op worker in Liverpool
Katy Bourne, Sussex Police and Crime Commissioner who is the national lead for business and retail crime, claimed 20 per cent of offenders account for 80 per cent of shoplifting offences in her county.
Speaking of Project Pegasus, she told The Times: 'It'll be a game-changer for policing because for the first time ever, policing will get a complete picture across the country of where these gangs are hitting different areas and they'll have that data and intelligence to be able to put that out to local police forces to go after those gangs.'
Home Secretary Suella Braverman has ordered police to investigate every theft as part of a major crackdown. But the move faced criticism from the National Police Chiefs' Council, who accused her of meddling in forces' operational independence.
Speaking of the epidemic blighting the Co-op, Matt Hood, managing director of food, said: 'The rise in shop looting and retail crime, perpetuated by repeat, prolific offenders and organised criminal gangs is becoming one of the most significant issues facing UK communities.
'This isn't a victimless crime, as my store colleagues who have been verbally abused and had knives and syringes pulled on them can vouch for, but it is seemingly a consequence-less crime.
'The Home Office and NPCC say every crime will be investigated, which are great words, but actions are better and, frankly, yet to be seen, as our stores report serious crimes every single day, but in 71pc of cases, no police turn up.
'Co-op has invested over £200million to try and keep our colleagues and stores safe, so I am increasingly frustrated by how our efforts are not being matched by those who have the power to enforce consequences.'
