Coventry Shopkeeper Reports £1,000 Monthly Loss Due to Shoplifting

A shop owner has expressed a lack of confidence in police assistance following recurring shoplifting incidents that result in a monthly profit reduction of £1,000. Manju Odedra and her husband, who operate a Nisa Extra convenience store in Allesley, Coventry, state they are facing financial difficulties due to daily occurrences of shoplifting. This situation coincides with recent data from West Midlands Police, indicating a 44% increase in reported shoplifting and retail crime within Coventry compared to the same period last year. The police force stated its implementation of community orders to prohibit frequent shoplifters from specific areas of the city. Throughout the West Midlands, the force documented 26,145 shoplifting offenses in the 12 months leading up to June, an increase from 19,184 offenses recorded during the preceding 12-month timeframe. This 36% increase surpasses the average rise of 29% observed across England and Wales during the identical period. For Mrs Odedra, the issue appears to be continuous. “It’s almost every day, sometimes people take whole boxes of beer and run away, they swear and abuse the staff,” the shopkeeper informed BBC CWR. She further stated: “It has a lot of impact on the business, we’re losing stock, it’s a minimum of £1,000 a month.” “We’ve spoken to the police several times but they are not bothered.” “We’ve stopped calling the police because it’s not worth it, it’s like calling and wasting your time because they aren’t doing anything.” “We can’t afford security guards here because sales have gone down, it would absolutely help if police were more proactive.” Research by The Retail Trust charity revealed that 80% of shop employees and 90% of store managers have encountered abusive situations at their workplaces, with 98% experiencing verbal abuse, 33% receiving threats of violence, 14% being physically assaulted, and 10% being spat upon. West Midlands Police stated that it consistently investigates all reported shoplifting incidents and any evidence it obtains. A spokesperson for the force further commented: “We always encourage businesses to report shoplifting, as it helps us build a clear intelligence picture of where and when it is happening and who is responsible.” “A key tool we use now is the criminal behaviour order (CBO) – these allow us to ban known offenders from coming to certain areas of the city, leading them to be arrested if found there.” “This allows us to take action much earlier and prosecute people who are known as prolific shoplifters.”