A shop in York that has become a target for thieves has sourced the power of the community to help.
The team who run Londis on Poppleton Road say they have experienced a noticeable rise in crime since February, with three thefts in recent weeks.
Now they have taken to posting CCTV footage of the crimes on social media in an attempt to identify – and deter – the criminals.
Not only is the shop taking a hit financially from the crimes, the incidents have left them concerned about their safety as well as the impact on the shop’s “community feel” they’ve worked hard to establish.
Manager Amanda McKenna, known as Mandy, has worked at the Poppleton Road shop for more than 20 years.
She told YorkMix that although minor thefts have always been part of the job, recent incidents have become more frequent, reckless, and blatant.
“They just don’t seem to be bothered. You’d think with CCTV everywhere, they wouldn’t want their face captured, but people just don’t seem to care,” she told YorkMix.
In one recent case, a man walked out of the shop with a selection of alcohol, and casually told staff he’d come back to pay it the next day.
“You’re put in a difficult situation, one of the people that stole from us we found out was on bail for serious assault, so you’ve got to be wary of dangerous people,” Mandy said.
Costly losses
Vapes and alcohol are among the most commonly stolen items, rather than basic necessities.
Mandy said: “I know there’s poverty and nobody has a lot of money at the moment, but it’s not items like food that people are trying to steal.
“I’ve even paid for customers shopping out of my own money, but when it’s just alcohol and vapes that are being taken, it’s not necessities.”
Mandy recalled a recent incident where a man emptied an entire pack of vapes into his bag, worth around £60.
“We’re not like Tesco or Sainsbury’s, we’re independent and each theft is a big hit when you’ve got staff wages to pay out and it costs a lot of money to run the shop.”
Sharing the footage
In an effort to identify those responsible, the Londis team started posting CCTV footage of thefts onto their Facebook page, appealing to the community for names and information.
The response, according to Mandy, is usually quick. “York is very small, so our average time of getting a name is about ten minutes,” Mandy said.
If a thief returns to the store to apologise and pay for what they took, the posts are taken down.
“One guy was in a very bad place when he stole, I knew who he was and where he lived so I rang him up the next day.
“He apologised and came back to pay, and it was sorted. He comes back in now and he’s mortified, he wasn’t in a good place at the time,” she told YorkMix.
However, not all incidents end this way. Some identified suspects never return or respond, despite being found out through social media. “They’re just not bothered!” Mandy said.
Charged to court
North Yorkshire Police has been investigating the crimes. A force spokesperson said a suspect has appeared in court in connection with a theft from Londis in June.
Mandy says the rise in thefts does take a personal toll. She feels it’s affecting the “family” feel to the store.
She’s proud of the shop’s strong community and values all her regular customers as friends, but recent incidents have made her more wary.
Now, if someone enters the store who she doesn’t recognise, or is carrying a large bag, she feels as if she has to be more vigilant. “It does make you a bit edgy, like you’ve got to watch them,” she said.
But she added: “It’s a real shame because 99% of our customers are amazing. They’re lovely and it’s a real community here, everyone knows each other, I love it.”