Shop staff 'scared' as shoplifting cases rise

Jabar Farooq said he was seeing more shoplifting in Slough

A shop owner has said his staff have been left "scared" as shoplifting cases continue to rise.

Jabar Farooq, who runs a phone shop in Slough, Berkshire, said thefts now occurred two to three times a week.

Retail crime across the UK has surged, with 20.4 million incidents of customer theft reported in the year to September 2024 - up 3.7 million on the previous year - costing retailers an estimated £2bn, according to the British Retail Consortium.

Thames Valley Police said it remained "committed to tackling shoplifting and retail crime".

The force recorded a 22% rise in shoplifting between May 2024 and April 2025.

Mr Farooq said: "In Slough High Street we are facing many issues.

"We have to be careful with how we deal with them, we don't want trouble every day."

He said he always called police after the incidents.

"Usually [police] have to do their paperwork and they want CCTV from us," he said.

"If they try to resolve these issues, it's good, but I don't think they can resolve them because we have seen the same faces over and over again."

Andrew Goodacre, chief executive of the British Independent Retailers Association, said: "For individual shop owners it is just a horrible situation. They feel powerless to deal with it."

He added that stronger police presence and local wardens could help deter offenders.

Thames Valley Police urged the public to report incidents via 101 or its website.