Finnish figures for losses caused by shoplifting among highest in Europe

Business community calls for stiffer punishments such as entry bans for hardened pilferers

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In a corner shop on Salomonkatu in downtown Helsinki, shoplifters are caught almost on a daily basis.
      "This morning the first attempt happened at 7 a.m. One has to be cautious with them. This one had a pair of scissors on them", shopkeeper Mika Luoti explains, shaking his head.
      There are all kinds of pilferers, from teenage first-timers to hardened habitual thieves.
      According to Luoti, alcoholics and junkies form the core of all shoplifters. They steal either for their own use, or to sell something, such as expensive meat products, on the nearby streets.
     
"Beer on the run" is the most arrogant of all the shoplifting methods, whereby a thief simply walks into a shop, stuffs his bags and pockets full of beer bottles and simply walks out. Another way is simply to grab a twelve-pack of beer and carry it out by the checkout counter without paying for it.
      Thieves are aware that for safety reasons the shop staff has usually been advised not to intervene in pilfering cases.
      In the Salomonkatu shop, however, thieves are confronted by a large shopkeeper who catches them by running after them.
      "The most impudent 'beer run' guy even had a tenderloin steak stuffed down his trousers. The monetary value of the theft was in excess of a hundred euros", Luoti describes.
     
In Helsinki alone over 10,000 shoplifting cases take place each year.
      "Mostly it’s food and beverages. Beer is the permanent favourite. Prepared convenience food items are also popular among the thieves", Inspector Heikki Perkola confirms.
      Some clothes and cosmetics are also taken.
     
According to the Federation of Finnish Commerce estimates, the nationwide annual loss caused by shoplifting is about EUR 437 million, which translates to 1.34 percent of the total net sales. Whilst this marks a decline from a 2003 study, the figure is still one of the highest in Europe.
      Of this sum, the actual thefts constitute around EUR 360 million. Another 50 to 100 million is spent on surveillance systems.
     
Now a joint working group has been set up by the business community and the authorities to seek new ways to constrain shoplifting.
      At present, a theft is classified as petty larceny if its monetary value is EUR 300-500. According to the working group the lowest limit of petty larceny should be lowered to the tens of euros.
      For repeat offenders the team proposes an outright ban on approach to within a given distance of certain shops, in the same fashion as the bans on spouses in cases of domestic violence or abuse, or on football hooligans. Stiffer court sentences for the offenders are also on the wish list.
      The Tampere-based daily Aamulehti first reported in its Thursday issue of the initial suggested measures by the working group set up by the Interior and Justice Ministries, the Federation of Finnish Industries EK, the Federation of Finnish Commerce, and the Central Chamber of Commerce.
     
At least Mika Luoti welcomes the group’s proposal.
      "I have a few regular morons coming in here myself. Making their access to my shop more difficult would be a most welcome improvement", he says.


Previously in HS International Edition:
  Police to warn Finnish companies against crime risks (29.8.2007)
  Shoplifting costs Finnish stores over 560 million euros annually (4.6.2003)

Helsingin Sanomat