Shoplifting in South Ayrshire spikes by almost 25 per cent in a year

dailyrecord.co.uk:

Shoplifting crimes in South Ayrshire have spiked by almost 25 per cent in the last year.Recent figures show that across the area the number of recorded shoplifting incidents has risen from 775 in the year ending June 2022 to 952 incidents in the year ending June 2023, an increase of 23 per cent.South Scotland Conservative list MSP Sharon Dowey is calling on the Scottish Government to provide greater funding to Police Scotland to allow them to crack down on brazen thefts in South Ayrshire.Her plea comes after meetings with retailers who have highlighted the increase in offences in stores across the area.Ms Dowey says more must be done to ensure that the police have the resources to target shoplifters.Sharon Dowey MSP said: “It should ring alarm bells that shoplifting incidents have spiked by almost 25 per cent in South Ayrshire over the last year.“The police need more resources to clamp down on offending.“After meeting with various retailers, I know violence against retail workers is also a serious problem.

Retail staff should be able to go to their work without fear that they will be targeted by shoplifters or have to deal with violence.“The SNP Government must provide the police with extra resources to target shoplifters in South Ayrshire.“Unless action is taken, they will be giving shoplifters the green light to carry on offending, and that will only serve to harm businesses and their retail staff who just want to get on with their jobs.”The Scottish Government said that while the latest data on recorded shoplifting in the area does show an increase, it “remains below pre pandemic levels."A Scottish Government spokesperson said: “The Scottish Government fully supports the innovative Scottish Partnership against