Shoplifting on the rise in European country

Shoplifting on the rise in European country

Carrot, tuna, condoms, perfume, chocolate: these are the favourite targets of shoplifters in Serbia. Several supermarket owners in Belgrade confirmed that the number of thefts have risen in the past months. They are reluctant to call the police, opting instead to try and protect their goods by themselves.

ECONOMY WORLD MARCH 10. 2023 16:03

An increasing number of products now come equipped with security labels in Serbian supermarkets. Earlier, this type of protection was only needed on the most expensive beverages and perfumes, but in the past few months, some supermarkets have also affixed these special tags on chocolate, tinned products, toothbrushes and deodorants, to indicate if the product has not been scanned at checkout. The precaution is not unfounded. According to a Belgrade unit of a large supermarket chain, people are trying to steal nearly everything, taking a risk to even steal a piece of onion or carrot. The supermarket does not put safety labels on each and every product, because it would be too expensive, and even that would not insufficient protection, they say

Photo: V4NA

The number and value of shoplifting incidents have risen significantly in a Serbian chain, the managers of the chain told the daily Danas.

„In 2022, the average monthly loss from theft was 176 thousand dinars (1,500 euros), while this year the average for two months is 368 thousand dinars, or about 3,140 euros.”

the representatives of the chain said.

Rising inflation boosts shoplifting

Thefts have become more frequent in recent months, as rising inflation has made grocery shopping in Serbia even more expensive. The annualised inflation rate stood at 15.8 percent in January, but food prices have risen much more.

Data published by the Republican Institute of Statistics show that between January 2022 and January 2023, the price of milk, dairy products and eggs increased by 43.9 per cent, fish by 27.4 per cent, flour and bakery products by 20 per cent, and fruit and vegetables by 21-22 per cent.

The substantial price hikes are mainly affecting those who are already in a dire financial situation, because the minimum wage and the state pension – although both were increased in January – are barely enough to keep pace with shop prices.

Safety sticker on sardine with vegetables

V4NA has also visited a popular shopping mall in downtown. Perfumes are stored in safer boxes and drinks are protected by a hard label. This is the case in many countries, but what is surprising is that anti-theft stickers with metal vibrating strips have already appeared on very cheap staple food products.

Photo: V4NA

All canned fish products come with a sticker like this: not just the expensive tuna fish, but also the sardines with vegetables, which cost less than 2 euros.

Photo: V4NA

Now the liquid soap costing €2.5 and the 100-gram chocolate bars also carry safety labels. Although this is something we haven’t seen, Although we haven’t seen this, some press reports say that certain shops load their shelves with empty toothpaste boxes and only give out the original product at the cashier, once the customer has paid.

Photo: V4NA

The legal framework is there, but traders have no time to litigate

In most cases, shops are helpless.

„It’s unpleasant to go up to a customer and ask them to put back what they stole, but we have to do it,” said a drugstore employee.

Police cannot be alerted for every toothbrush theft, which means petty theft will often go unpunished.

ECONOMY WORLD

Tags:

belgrade, police, serbia, shopping