Shoplifting of consumer goods increases

Over the past few months, a small supermarket in the center of Marseille (Bouches-du-Rhône) has faced a growing phenomenon: several times a day, customers try to steal food. The director gets upset with people who can’t pay and only calls the police when the situation escalates. This situation is rare. One customer who was caught was a delivery driver with three children. “I’ll try it out, and if I see two or three things I can save with my hands, I’ll take them”he confided.

Supermarkets strengthen supervision

Staff, elderly and even students say they are forced to steal to get food. As inflation returns, the image of the burglar will become increasingly diverse. Hypermarkets have to step up monitoring. At a business near Châteauroux (Indre), cashiers are trained to detect theft. The store first relies on a system of 40 cameras that zoom in to the bottom of the shopping cart. “Previously, the theft was focused on entertainment products. Now we’re targeting consumer goods”Observe the director.