Shopkeepers should deploy ‘greeters’ to say hello to customers to deter shoplifting, a police force has said.
Lancashire Constabulary issued the advice to business owners amid a surge in thefts, with nearly three a minute reported in England and Wales.
The guidance comes as the total thefts reached 530,643 in the year to March, at an estimated cost of £1.8bn to retailers.
And a policing chief has said there is little deterrent for thieves because they are so often freed by courts to steal again.
Katy Bourne, the national lead for shoplifting at the Association of Police and Crime Commissioners, said: ‘People have got to know that they’re going to get caught and that there’s a meaningful deterrent when they do it. There is no point arresting shoplifters if there is no effective deterrent.’
