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WHEN YOU’RE OUT and about shopping this Christmas, watch your bags.
Organised gangs are said to be targeting stores over the festive season to steal people’s belongings, according to ISME, the Irish Small & Medium Enterprises Association.
One retail group told TheJournal.ie that some gangs are even flying in to target specific streets over the festive season.
ISME has sent a warning to retailers to be extra vigilant during the Christmas period, but that warning can be extended to shoppers too.
It says that shops throughout the country are being increasingly targeted by shoplifters and organised gangs.
Targeted
The association says that evidence indicates that retailers are twice as likely to be victims of shoplifting over the Christmas period, thanks to busy stores and large crowds.
ISME Chief Executive, Mark Fielding said that shoplifters “see the Christmas period as the ideal opportunity” to shoplift due to crowds and more stock on the shelves.
He also said that some people buy stolen goods from thieves, “probably aware that the items have been obtained illegally, but thereby helping to promote the business of crime”.
ISME research found shoplifting almost trebles at Christmas compared to the rest of the year. It says that Friday and Saturday are peak days.
While alcohol, electronic goods, phones, cosmetics, clothing and food products are the most common items targeted by thieves, ISME has also noticed a significant surge in theft of luxury items.
Crime and Punishment
ISME said that business owner-managers have a “significant role” to play in combating shoplifting, it is calling for an increased garda presence in the main commercial and shopping centres over Christmas, together with swift court action to deter retail crime and jail the offenders.
Seán Murphy, Deputy CEO of Retail Excellence Ireland agreed with ISME’s assessment.
“Loss prevention officers have a real challenge at Christmas,” Murphy told TheJournal.ie.
There are some organised gangs - some have been known to fly in to hit certain streets and fly out again.
He described shoplifting as a “perennial challenge”, but said that the concern from REI members is that “it isn’t treated as seriously in courts as it could be and should be”.
He said that in court, dealing with individuals “on a case-by-case basis may not capture the amount of serial shoplifting they’re doing”, so they are “not being judged as hard as they should be”.
“Shoplifters affect the bottom line of every consumer because the shop has to recoup the loss,” he said. ”They do very real economic damage.”
Combating crime
ISME recommends that retailers take a number of steps to combat the increased level of crime against their business, including:
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I like the determination of the owner!
Great Idea…new for here….
Well done to all involved. Can’t believe RTE aren’t showing any of this. Great story.
Hope the last leg goes well for him. We’ll be there waiting! (May venture up this evening for the atmosphere!)
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“It wasn’t all plane sailing”
Fair play to him.
It’s not easy to overcome all the red tape and bureaucracy that was put in his way.
Boaty McPlaneface!
Are the wings going to be put back on when it’s in place?
Fair play to someone for making a go of a thing but isn’t glamping essentially camping in permanent structures? So sort of non camping camping like a chalet resort with a special name on it? It’s “put a fancy name on and whack the prices up”-ery.
I’ve just realised that this is exploiting hipsters with more money than sense. Bring it on.
Well done to all and the best of luck ✈️
This story is getting serious airtime! I wonder how much the owner is paying the Journal?
Q, sleep time..
Hi Rob, I think the journal are posting about this because it gets alot of “clicks” so the more clicks the better for the journal.
Lad your a fair clown..
I hope it takes off for him.
They Deirdre Whitney sounds like a right see you next tuesday
Should be a runaway success.
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I would be very wary of being near, or getting into, any ex-Transaero aircraft given that Transaero lied to the British authorities following the Russian state sponsored assassination of Alexander Litvinenko, an ex KGB agent and critic of Vladimir Putin. It turned out the two Russian suspects in Mr Litvinenko’s murder travelled several times on Transaero aircraft between Moscow and London carrying quantities of Plonium 210, the radioactive substance used to kill him in a London restaurant. When the British authorities asked Transaero to test their aircraft for radioactive contamination Transaero said they had and they were all clear. However, when the Metropolitan Police impounded a Transaero aircraft at Heathrow as part of their investigation into Mr Litvinenko’s murder, they found it to be contaminated with the substance used to kill him. I, for one, would not get into a Transaero aircraft, decommissioned or otherwise.
Have model of same to scale.beautiful piece
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