Grab-and-go crime wave as thieves 'not even hiding it'

“This is what you hear from speaking to folk. They see these things happen, and they might be a bit wary of reporting it, because they don’t want anything coming back to them.

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“It certainly needs addressed but it just shows you what the country is coming to when people are stealing anything to try to get some money. They know if they steal certain food or other products, they can get money for it. It's a real concern.”

A total of 1,679 crimes of dishonesty were recorded in the reporting period - an increase of 18 per cent on the previous year - with theft by shoplifting constituting 46 per cent of these.