“It’s become a free-for-all”- businesses on Palmerston Road hit hard by a spike in shoplifting
Businesses in Southsea’s Palmerston Road are calling for more police action after being hit by a spike in shoplifting.
Rhys Evans, 39, store manager for Southsea Waitrose and Partners, said: “We’ve really been struggling to deal with shoplifters this year, it’s the worst it’s ever been in our store.”
The most recent crime statistics from StreetCheck says that there were 230 crimes committed in and around Palmerston Road in January 2023, 15 of which were shoplifting. This is a decrease from January 2022, where 28 cases of shoplifting were reported.
However, local vendors such as Rhys, dispute how accurate these stats are: “They say that shoplifting is going down on Palmerston Road, but that’s not the case. If anything it’s getting more frequent, but we’ve given up on reporting every case because nothing ever comes of it.”
Due to the rising risk of shoplifting, businesses on Palmerston Road have had to turn to tools such as DISK. This app allows businesses to share information and build profiles about known local shoplifters, so they can be spotted quickly and removed. Southsea Waitrose was the most at risk Waitrose in the UK for shoplifting before implementing DISK, now they are the 23rd.
Portsmouth Council is putting measures in place to help businesses with the threat of shoplifting.
Councillor Jason Fazackarley stated: “We are well aware of the damage shoplifting is having on businesses in Portsmouth, and we’re committed to help.”
The solution for this spike is clear to Rhys though: “We simply need more help from the police. Most of the officers that used to patrol Palmerston Road have been moved to Commercial Road, it’s become a free-for-all here because of it.”
