Persistent shoplifters should be named and shamed, and their photos should be posted in public and shared among other retailers, says former garda Trevor Laffan
Let’s back retailers, and have less sympathy for shoplifters
A survey revealed two-thirds of Irish businesses expressed dissatisfaction with garda response times to crime reports
Shoplifting is a massive problem for retailers. Call it what you like, shoplifting, retail theft… it’s stealing, plain and simple.
It has been an issue forever, but despite the use of CCTV, security systems and door staff, it seems to be worse today than it was 40 years ago. And more costly too.
Threatening or assaulting retail workers has grown to such an extent that some retailers may even prefer to let thieves walk out of the store unchallenged to protect the staff from harm.
Prolific thieves are a serious problem because they are a constant thorn in the side. They don’t go away. They are regularly prosecuted, fined, jailed or whatever, but they often return to thieving.
They may receive some sympathy because of their addictions, but at the end of the day, retailers are losing financially because of their activity.
An even bigger scourge to retailers is the organised gangs of shoplifters. Professional thieves who make a business out of stealing. They often hunt in packs and have all the tricks of the trade.
They often use distraction tactics to focus the attention of staff in one direction while theft is taking place somewhere else.
They can be extremely well organised and often use special containers to secrete the stolen goods and to avoid detection systems.
Retailers, security personnel, and even police officers need to be certain of their ground before challenging these thieves because getting it wrong could cost the retailer dearly.
Cork CSNA National Executive member Willie O’Brien has called for changes to the legal system to better tackle repeat offenders, as a survey revealed that 36% of Irish small to medium enterprises were affected by crime in the past 12 months, with the figure as high as 100% for convenience stores.
ISME’s Business Crime Survey 2025 found that of Irish businesses which experienced crime, 68% were targeted more than once, and that 34% of SMEs spend over €5,000 annually on crime prevention.
Willie spends €40,000 per year on security. “Retailers have to incur security costs and cover the costs of losses, while we’re dealing with rising costs for electricity, products, wages, just like everybody else,” he said.
A total of 67% of respondents expressed dissatisfaction with Garda response times, and 76% of retailers said they had experienced financial losses, with 36% reporting losses exceeding €10,000 in a year.
Fed-up shopkeepers will tell you it’s not worth their time calling gardaí anymore. If officers are thin on the ground and the prisons are already full to overflowing, then what are retailers supposed to do? If there is no deterrent, shoplifters will keep returning.
So, maybe it’s time to have more concern for our retailers and less for the shoplifters.
We think persistent offenders should be named and shamed. Their photographs should be posted in public and shared among other retailers, so everyone knows who they are.
