Pubs are setting up stalls to sell on goods stolen by criminal gangs, while retailers are being forced to replace packs of detergent with dummy boxes, a report into Britain’s shoplifting epidemic has found.
Research by Emmeline Taylor, a professor of criminology at City, University of London describes “a state of lawlessness on the UK high street which has never been seen before”. Shoplifters have progressed from stealing basketfuls of steaks to using builder’s sacks and suitcases to loot goods which are stolen to order or sold on Facebook.
The research, prepared in partnership with the Co-op, reported that the retailer tracked its stolen wine and meat for sale in restaurants and cigarettes in corner shops. In Manchester, Co-op staff said that a neighbouring pub
