‘Definite rise in shoplifting’ claims Mallow business owner

CRIME INCIDENCES INVOLVING THEFT RISE 46 PER CENT – CSO FIGURES

A MALLOW councillor and business owner has said that he has seen a definite increase in shoplifting in his store, a trend which is reflected in crime figures released by the Central Statistics Office (CSO), which show that theft-related offences were up by 12 per cent in 2023, with many of those incidents occurring in shops.

Fianna Fáil councillor Patrick Hayes owns Country Lifestyle, an outdoor sports shop, in Mallow, and following the release of the latest CSO crime figures, he told The Corkman that he and his staff have “definitely” seen a jump in theft incidents. “It’s definitely increased,” he said. “We’ve had a few incidences, and they are just the ones you see, but obviously there is more of it,” he added.

The key findings of the CSO crime figures, released on Monday, March 25, stated that crime incidents involving theft and related offences were up by 8,169 to 74,144 incidents last year, and nearly half (46 per cent) of that increase could be put down to a growing number of incidents of theft from shops.

There was also an increase in recorded incidents of robbery, extortion and hijacking offences, which were up by 26 per cent or 531 incidences to 2,601 between 2022 and 2023, driven mostly by a rise in ‘blackmail or extortion and robbery from the person’ offences.

Cllr Hayes said that he could not put his finger on why the rate of thefts has increased in his store and countrywide.

“I couldn’t really say what is driving it, it’s very difficult to know what’s the reason behind it to be honest,” Cllr Hayes said.

The representative said, however, that although there has been an increase in shoplifting, modern-day security measures can be of a great help to businesses to counter crime.

“With cameras now and security, it does help to prevent a lot of it, it does help,” he said.

“If you catch someone, at least you have security, you have security cameras,” Cllr Hayes explained.

IT’S DEFINITELY INCREASED. WE’VE HAD A FEW INCIDENTS AND THEY ARE JUST THE ONES YOU SEE – CLLR