Light fingers a major headache
Most shoplifters fall into the age range of 20 to 35 years.
Despite a state of the art surveillance system, vigilant staff and security, shoplifting remains a major headache for Witpoortjie Pick n Pay’s co-owners Steve Temkin and Luigi Cocomello – and they are not alone.
On 23 October, the day the Record spoke to Temkin, two shoplifters were being detained while waiting for the police. Temkin had some interesting insights into this crime, at least as far as his store is concerned. He said shoplifting occurred two or three times a week, that shoplifters are mainly between the ages of 20 and 35 and more often than not, they are females.
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https://roodepoortrecord.co.za/2018/10/17/woman-shot-witpoortjie-pick-n-pay/
Items mostly stolen are sweets, especially chocolates, toiletries and goods such as nappies. Temkin also debunked the perception that shoplifters are usually drug addicts. “Yes, mostly it is clear that the ones we catch are seedy or stealing to feed their drug habits, but you’ll be surprised how many shoplifters look like normal, decent people,”he said.
Other problems they experience are cloned cards and bag-snatching. Temkin also said that he knew of at least two other stores in the centre that are plagued by this crime.
“People criticise us, saying we should get armed guards, but that is the last thing you want – a shootout in a store full of customers,” concluded Temkin.
The following crime statistics were released by the Minister of Police in September.
Honeydew and Roodepoort Police Stations featured at numbers 18 and 19 on a list of the 30 worst police stations, with the worst station being at number one. The number of cases reported at Honeydew dropped from 459 to 418, with Roodepoort also showing a decrease, from 517 to 416 cases. Durban Central, going from 1 309 cases to 1 129 cases, was the station with the highest number of reported cases.
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