Scotland's streets of shame as figures show city shopping areas the worst for crime

Daily Record

6 days ago

New police figures show that some of Scotland's most popular shopping locations are in the top ten streets for crime
Scotland's famous city shopping streets have become the nation's crime hotspots, the Daily Record can reveal.
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Shock figures released by police show Argyle Street in the centre of Glasgow – which has hundreds of shops and stores – had more crimes than any other thoroughfare in the country.
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Nearby Sauchiehall Street and Buchanan Street take the second and third spot in the most crime-hit streets.
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Fourth on the top ten was Union Street in Aberdeen with 764, fifth was Union Street in Glasgow with 747 and sixth was Princes Street in Edinburgh with 719.
The figures which were released under Freedom of Information are for the financial year 2023/24 and include all crimes. The revelations come at a time of record numbers of shoplifting cases across Scotland.
Yesterday there were calls for tougher action to try to halt the rising tide of theft and other crime.
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David Lonsdale, Director of the Scottish Retail Consortium, said: "Soaring rates of shop thefts are a scourge on high streets across Scotland and are a key factor behind rising levels of abuse and threats towards store workers. The financial cost pushes up prices for shoppers and undermines the health and vitality of our city centres and retail destinations.
'Despite better legal protections for shop workers and record spending by retailers on crime prevention, much more needs to be done to reduce thieving from stores. We need a concerted effort across law enforcement and the criminal justice system as a whole to turn the tide on crime against retailers.'
Glasgow had eight of the top ten streets in Scotland for recorded crime.
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Number seven in the top ten was Helen Street in Govan with 664 crime reports, followed by London Road in the east end with 598, Maryhill Road with 581 and Dumbarton Road in the west of the city with 573.
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In June, the Daily Record revealed how shoplifting is at its highest level for more than 50 years fuelled by organised crime, drugs and the cost-of-living crisis. Scottish Government figures showed shoplifting increased last year by 16 per cent from 38,674 cases to 44,730. It represents a 57 per cent rise in the 10 year period between 2015 and 2025.
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Yesterday shopkeepers based in Argyle Street told of how shoplifting has become an everyday norm. Hatem Fouchali, 45, is manager of the King of Bling clothing shop opposite Glasgow Central Station. He gets between two and three shoplifting incidents a week targeting the stores designer clothing and sportswear which includes £90 basketball tops.
Hatem says the thieves are normally opportunist and often work in pairs with one pretending to show the other an item of clothing before pilfering it.
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Hatem added: "We had a couple of women aged 20-25 and two men in their mid 30's trying to steal clothing last week.
"Both were working in pairs. We managed to stop them and get the clothing back. However when we looked at the CCTV later we realised that the two men had got away with a top which we hadn't noticed at the time."
Hatem says that the number of shoplifting incidents have steadily increased over the years and it is the worst he has known it.
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His staff don't always call the police but are happy to recover the stolen items and throw the shoplifters out the store Hatem however would like to see more officers on the beat on Argyle Street He added:"If there is an incident on Argyle Street the police are always quick to react. "But that is normally the only time you see them. "I think if there were officers regularly patrolling up and down during the day that would be a big deterrent to shoplifting and other crime.
Central Park who are next door say they are regularly targeted by shoplifters particularly groups of young male and female thieves who come into the shop and steal a variety of items from bars of chocolate to vaping products. Shop worker Shabaz Aslan, 30, says the thieves often come in with bags then fill them up with stolen items. He added:"When we try to stop them they say there is nothing we can do because of their age." Recently a group of four teenage girls came in and brazenly walked away with a full display of mobile phone accessories.
Luqman Naseer, 30, works at Phone Expert in Argyle Street's pedestrianised area. Their main problem is customers who ask to see an expensive phone and then run away with it - which happens once or twice a month.
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The Daily Record also spoke with a senior investigator for a well known retail chain which has two shops in the city-centre in Argyle Street and Sauchiehall Street. He says they have around 15 shoplifting incidents a week and work closely with the police Those caught shoplifting range from drug addicts to students. The investigator said security staff have been assaulted and spat on by shoplifters they have confronted with stolen goods. including soft toys.
Police Scotland have set up Operation Dynos to tackle shoplifting across Scotland using a £3m funding allocation from the Scottish Government. One concern is vulnerable young people who they say are being targeted by organised criminals to steal alcohol from stores. The stolen goods are then resold, with profits being used to purchase drugs and fund further criminal activity by the gangs.
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Detective Inspector Vicki Douglas, who leads Operation Dynos, said: 'Retail crime is not victimless and in fact, what we've seen are some of the most vulnerable young people in our communities being actively recruited and indoctrinated into the theft and resale of goods from stores in the region by organised criminals for their financial gain. "We are committed to tackling retail crime, while at the same time safeguarding young people from harm and coercion into criminal behaviour."
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Police say are also working closely with British Transport Police to reduce anti-social behaviour and crime in the area around Central Station.
A spokesperson added: "The busiest and most densely populated areas will result in a higher number of crimes being reported. "These city centre areas include busy shopping areas and popular night-time economies.
"Dedicated policing plans are in place with high visibility patrols to deal with various aspects of criminal behaviour. Officers also work closely with local businesses, licensed and retail premises to provide support and ensure there is a consistent approach to tackling crime and disorder."