Latest news with #MeettheShoplifters
Yahoo
13-03-2025
- Yahoo
I can't justify my teenage shoplifting, says Stacey Dooley
Are we turning into a nation of shoplifters? That's the question Stacey Dooley asks in her latest documentary. The presenter reveals she herself shoplifted as a teenager, as part of the BBC programme on the rise in retail theft in the UK. Dooley explains she would steal eyeliner and mascara at around 13 or 14 years old. "It would have been disingenuous not to mention it" in the documentary, she says. "There's not a world where I could sit here and try and justify it, you know, there was no reason, there was no need for me to be out there behaving like that." She adds that she "wasn't thinking about the girls on the shop floor" and "wasn't thinking about anybody else other than myself". The documentary-maker spent eight months looking into the rise in shoplifting in the UK - and says "shoplifting has never been more prolific than it is now". And this comes as retail theft and violence and abuse towards shop workers is rising, according to the British Retail Consortium (BRC). Based on the latest weighted BRC-Opinium survey with 2,000 participants, the BRC estimates almost a quarter (24%) of the UK population witnessed shoplifting in the 12 months to February 2025. In Meet the Shoplifters, Dooley asks shoplifters about their motivations. Some see it as an act of defiance against big corporations, while others say they find it "really degrading" but do it to get things like nappies and milk for their children. One shoplifter Dooley spoke to, for example, was a mother stealing milk and bread to feed her child. "She was riddled with guilt," Dooley says of the mother. "It was out of sheer desperation." Tom Holder from the BRC says shoplifting in the UK is becoming worse and worse, adding: "We're now just reaching new heights. People think that they can get away with it, without consequence." The recent BRC survey also estimates 23% of customers witnessed the physical or verbal abuse of shop staff in the year to February 2025. This can include racial or sexual abuse, physical assault or threats with weapons. Dooley spoke to retail worker Dips, who works in a cosmetics store in Manchester, and says "as each year has gone on, it's got worse for us". "It's not a victimless crime. Somebody always pays the price for it down the line. And for us, it's the staff in here," she adds. Dooley also explains how shoplifting is being documented on social media. "We've seen shop assistants be, you know, verbally abused, physically abused," she says. Helen Dickinson, the chief executive of the BRC, adds that while an incident can be "over in a matter of seconds", it can have "life-long consequences" on those who experience it, making them think twice about visiting their local high streets. When speaking to shoplifters, Dooley says some of them "don't even see it as a crime, necessarily". And she adds that on social media, some people use hashtags to offer other shoplifters advice. But shoplifting cost UK retailers £2bn in one year, according to a recent estimate. And Holder says shoplifting puts pressure on retail prices, adding: "That money has to come from somewhere, so it ends up being spread across everything that we buy." Meet the Shoplifters Shoplifters 'out of control' and becoming more brazen, say retailers Shoplifting levels 'unacceptable', inquiry finds 'I've carried out more than 50 citizen's arrests'
BBC News
13-03-2025
- BBC News
I can't justify my teen shoplifting, says Stacey Dooley
Are we turning into a nation of shoplifters? That's the question Stacey Dooley asks in her latest documentary. The presenter reveals she herself shoplifted as a teenager, as part of the BBC programme on the rise in retail theft in the UK. Dooley explains she would steal eyeliner and mascara at around 13 or 14 years old."It would have been disingenuous not to mention it" in the documentary, she says. "There's not a world where I could sit here and try and justify it, you know, there was no reason, there was no need for me to be out there behaving like that."She adds that she "wasn't thinking about the girls on the shop floor" and "wasn't thinking about anybody else other than myself".The documentary-maker spent eight months looking into the rise in shoplifting in the UK - and says "shoplifting has never been more prolific than it is now".And this comes as retail theft and violence and abuse towards shop workers is rising, according to the British Retail Consortium (BRC).Based on the latest weighted BRC-Opinium survey with 2,000 participants, the BRC estimates almost a quarter (24%) of the UK population witnessed shoplifting in the 12 months to February Meet the Shoplifters, Dooley asks shoplifters about their motivations. Some see it as an act of defiance against big corporations, while others say they find it "really degrading" but do it to get things like nappies and milk for their shoplifter Dooley spoke to, for example, was a mother stealing milk and bread to feed her child. "She was riddled with guilt," Dooley says of the mother. "It was out of sheer desperation."Tom Holder from the BRC says shoplifting in the UK is becoming worse and worse, adding: "We're now just reaching new heights. People think that they can get away with it, without consequence." The recent BRC survey also estimates 23% of customers witnessed the physical or verbal abuse of shop staff in the year to February 2025. This can include racial or sexual abuse, physical assault or threats with spoke to retail worker Dips, who works in a cosmetics store in Manchester, and says "as each year has gone on, it's got worse for us"."It's not a victimless crime. Somebody always pays the price for it down the line. And for us, it's the staff in here," she also explains how shoplifting is being documented on social media. "We've seen shop assistants be, you know, verbally abused, physically abused," she Dickinson, the chief executive of the BRC, adds that while an incident can be "over in a matter of seconds", it can have "life-long consequences" on those who experience it, making them think twice about visiting their local high streets. When speaking to shoplifters, Dooley says some of them "don't even see it as a crime, necessarily".And she adds that on social media, some people use hashtags to offer other shoplifters shoplifting cost UK retailers £2bn in one year, according to a recent estimate. And Holder says shoplifting puts pressure on retail prices, adding: "That money has to come from somewhere, so it ends up being spread across everything that we buy."
Telegraph
11-03-2025
- Telegraph
Stacey Dooley: I wouldn't go to the police if I was raped
Stacey Dooley has said that she would not go the police if she was raped after losing confidence in the authorities. The television presenter, 38, made the claim after following stories of women's experiences with the courts and investigators for a new BBC documentary filmed over three years. In an interview with Radio Times, Dooley said: 'If somebody raped me, I don't think I would go to the police, which is so bleak and such a disappointing realisation. But in terms of what I've witnessed, I wouldn't feel confident.' Her comments come in the lead-up to the release of Rape on Trial, which explores the challenges of reporting rape and covers the delays to court cases and waiting times for victims of alleged rape and sexual assault. She said: 'With the women I spoke to, the concern was always: 'If I go to the police, will they believe me?' 'It's one of the few crimes where your credibility is immediately brought into question. The bravery it takes is unbelievable.' Dooley inspired by Pelicot case Dooley also addressed the extraordinary case of Gisèle Pelicot, who last year became a global icon in the campaign against sexual violence for her bravery in turning the tables on her tormentors after waiving her right to anonymity. 'Obviously, I think she's a f---ing powerhouse,' Dooley said, adding: 'But I wonder if even she really understands the magnitude of what she's done for other women.' In December, Pelicot's former husband, Dominique, 72, was found guilty of drugging and raping his former wife, also 72, and for more than a decade soliciting men to assault her. The grandmother of seven has since become a feminist icon for refusing to remain in the shadows during his trial, choosing instead to confront those who abused and raped her. Dooley said that when filming Rape on Trial, during which she would hear the experiences of women reporting rape to the police, it would make her think: 'What would I do?' The programme comes as it was revealed that rape charges are increasingly being dropped before reaching trial. The Crown Prosecution Service discontinued 496 rape charges in the 12 months to July this year – more than three times the 157 dropped in the same period in 2019. Rape prosecutions descrease Data released in December show that the proportion of rape prosecutions being dropped rose from 9.3 per cent in 2022 to 12.8 per cent this year. Dooley also spoke about another of her upcoming documentary shows, Meet the Shoplifters, in which she meets people who steal, as well as staff members dealing with the issue. She admitted that she took items from shops when she was young, saying she 'perhaps tried to justify it in some way' when she was a teenager, but now does not understand how she could have behaved that way. Last year, the Luton-born presenter made her acting stage debut in 2:22 A Ghost Story, and won Strictly Come Dancing in 2018 with her partner, Kevin Clifton, with whom she has a child.
