Nearly a third of shoppers have seen shoplifting

NOTTINGHAM TOPS NATIONAL POLL BUT POLICE ARE PRAISED FOR RESPONSE TO THEFTS

- By JOSIE CLARKE & RUCSANDRA MOLDOVEANU

MORE people have witnessed shoplifting in Nottingham than anywhere else in the UK, including London, according to new data.

A new British Retail Consortium (BRC) opinion poll revealed that 32 per cent of people in Nottingham saw a shoplifting incident in the past 12 months. This is more than in cities like London, which came in second with 29 per cent, Manchester, with 25 per cent, or Birmingham, with 23 per cent.

At the other end of the spectrum are cities like Plymouth and Belfast, where only 12 per cent and 13 per cent, respectively, of people have witnessed a shoplifting incident.

Across the UK, nearly a quarter of the country’s population has reported witnessing shoplifting in the last 12 months, the Press Association reports. This is the equivalent of more than 16 million people, according to the BRC poll.

Nottingham also came in second for the proportion of people who witnessed physical or verbal abuse towards retail staff over the past 12 months. This stands at 29 per cent, surpassed only by London, where abuse towards shop staff has been witnessed by 30 per cent of customers.