Just before lunchtime on Briggate in Leeds, the sound of shouting can be heard above the hubbub of shoppers going about their business.
At North Face, the outdoor clothing store, a would-be shoplifter is being ejected by a security guard, but not before turning and throwing a bottle back into the shop.
Briggate is Yorkshire’s most prestigious shopping street, home to a branch of the department store Harvey Nichols, the luxury brands Mulberry and Louis Vuitton and elegant 19th-century arcades.
And yet this is a scene repeated almost every day in Leeds, which according to police statistics is now the shoplifting capital of England.
Since 2012, more than 17,000 incidents of shop theft have been recorded in Leeds city centre, far outstripping locations of a comparable size around the country, according to data analysis by The Times.
In Cardiff, which was in second place, there had been 13,768, followed by Westminster, Birmingham, Manchester and Newcastle, all with fewer than 12,500 cases.
“Shops are getting robbed left, right and centre,” said Sean John, owner of McKickz, a shoe shop a few doors down from North Face. “Nearly all of these shops now have security and every day you will see someone with an armful of T-shirts and socks being chased down Briggate in broad daylight by one of the security guards.
“Only yesterday Louis Vuitton had its windows smashed in. It’s unbelievable that this is the most expensive street in the county and yet shops are getting robbed on a daily basis.”
John, who opened his shop in 2019, believes most of the crime on Briggate is perpetrated by homeless people who steal clothing from stores such as JD Sports and Sports Direct in order to make a quick sale.
Since 2010, homelessness in Leeds has been steadily rising, and grew by 48 per cent over the past year, according to statistics released by the Department of Levelling Up, Housing and Communities.
“The council is responsible for homelessness and they have not done anything to sort the problem,” said John. “Last year I wrote to them repeatedly about the problem on Briggate. I know they have held meetings about the issue but nothing has changed and it’s getting worse.”
Others blame the police. Uzma Patel, who works in the newsagent owned by her father, Siddik, says shoplifters have become so brazen they will now steal from them in plain sight and sometimes use violence when challenged. However, for Sid’s News, which stands on New Briggate, just north of the main thoroughfare, schoolchildren are the main perpetrators.
Last week, a boy who looked no older than 15 pushed Patel’s sister up against the wall after stealing a fizzy drink and threatened to kill her if she tried to stop him again.
“It gets worse during the school holidays,” said Patel, 26. “They are always trying to get the vapes so we had to install a special security door, but they will steal anything. They even stole our charity box.
“I think they just do it for the thrill, and they know that they will get away with it. We ring the police but all they say is, ‘We’ll come in two days’ time to have a look over the CCTV footage.’”
At Fabrication, an arts and crafts shop, one man was so unabashed that he announced to the shop assistant when he walked in that he was a shoplifter. “But he said, ‘I’m not going to steal anything from you because I can see you’re a small independent business,’” said Julie Fraser, 58. “It was a bit of a surprise, but in the end we asked him if he’d take us around the shop and point out any weak spots from a shoplifter’s perspective, and he did.”
The shop, on Albion Street, is one of more than 400 in the city signed up to Leeds Watch, a shoplifting prevention network set up by Business Against Crime in Leeds, a not-for-profit organisation working with the council and West Yorkshire police.
Member businesses use walkie-talkies to communicate between shop floors and warn others if they have been robbed or if there are suspected thieves in the area. “It goes off non-stop all day,” said Fraser.
Superintendent Dan Wood, part of the Leeds district police team, recognised that shop theft was on the increase in the city but said that the force was working with retailers to reduce this sort of crime.
“Officers from our neighbourhood policing teams conduct problem- solving initiatives working with retailers and crime prevention officers to reduce opportunities for offending,” Wood said.
“When prolific offenders are identified and prosecuted, we also look to make use of other measures, such as criminal behaviour orders, to control their offending and provide longer-term solutions.”
A spokesman for Leeds city council said: “We take the issue of shoplifting, and concerns of local businesses extremely seriously and are working hard with partners to tackle this problem and all other types of crime in the city centre, while also providing assistance to affected people and businesses.
“In regard to homelessness, Leeds city council continues to deliver a positive prevention approach for those who present as homeless and resolves around 80 per cent of all cases, significantly higher than the national average across the country.
“We have also set up a citywide partnership approach, through the designated multi-agency Leeds Street Support Team, to ensure that the best support is available to those in need,” the spokesman added.
“In addition to this, we also operate daily outreach support with specialist on-street trained staff to help people who require support.”
