Despite South Yorkshire Police reporting a drop in crime rates, shop managers are witnessing more frequent shoplifting cases in the last couple of weeks.
Theft has become a daily struggle for Sheffield’s independent retailers.
Sauwandi Hidellage, 26, shop manager at Scope, Division Street, Sheffield, said: “We had two ladies two days ago come in, grab loads of clothes, pretend that they are going to pay, and then just walked out like they did not care.”
Phoebe Price, 27, store manager at Glass Onion, Division Street, Sheffield, said: “Last week a guy took a big stack of T-shirts and just grabbed them we luckily saw it and had to stop him.”
According to South Yorkshire Police statistics 749 shoplifting cases were reported in December 2024, a decline from 830 reported in October.
Every stolen item has a substantial financial impact on local shops.
Ms Hidellage said: “It does affect the total sales, because we sell brand-new items, as we have partnerships with big companies,”
“Losing money this way has a big impact on us, which is sad because we are a charity.”
Some stores have successfully introduced new ways of dealing with shoplifting.
Ms Price said: “This week our store started security tagging everything and got security scanners.
“If the buzz goes off then you are allowed to check someone’s bag and we can see if they have stolen anything.”
Thieves are becoming increasingly impudent in their actions, increasing risks for the staff.
Many shops hire vulnerable people making interacting with thieves potentially dangerous.
Ms Hidellage said: “We used to confront them, but we realised that we are just putting ourselves at risk.
“The more you confront them the more cheeky they get, we have decided that it’s not worth it. Most of my volunteers are vulnerable people and I can’t leave them alone in the shop.”
Max Weir, 26, a shop assistant in “Vintage Vintage”, Division Street, Sheffield, said staff do not have the power to physically stop thieves.
Despite losses, calling the police is not always a priority for shops.
“We don’t have time for that. We just try to make as much money as we can,” said Ms Hidellage.
Instead, stores rely on Sheffield City Centre Ambassadors and a network of other shops.
Ms Price said: “Some vintage stores on the street have an Instagram group, so if someone steals from one of the shops we send photos and make everyone aware of it.”
Ms Hidellage said: “We keep an eye on people and remember what they look like to warn the volunteers and the rest of the staff.”
Some shops struggle with the lack of security.
Many do not have cameras and security tags, making it easier for thieves to steal.
“We don’t have cameras, so we really need to be careful,” said Ms Hidellage.