Supermarket Worker Shares Challenges of Working on Britain’s “Wild West” High Streets with Frequent Shoplifting Incidents

A concerned supermarket employee has shared the harsh reality of working on the chaotic high streets of Britain, often dubbed as the ‘Wild West’, due to the disruptive activities of shoplifting gangs.

The individual, named Joe, who is 20 years old, made the difficult decision to resign from his position due to escalating concerns for his safety. He expressed feeling like he was constantly risking his life while trying to confront and handle the persistent thieves.

According to Joe, thieves frequently targeted the Sainsbury’s store where he worked, with some individuals stealing multiple times within a single day. Additionally, organized groups would storm into the shop, specifically targeting alcohol and cosmetics sections, before hastily escaping in a waiting vehicle.

As Black Friday and the festive period gets underway, a survey by Motorola Solutions has found that four in 10 retail workers are concerned for their safety.

Workers have been left fearing for their lives as gangs of thieves wreak havoc on retailers – with one in four considering quitting their jobs as a result.

‘I don’t get paid enough to get punched. I’m not a boxer,’ Joe told MailOnline.

He said working in retail ‘feels like the Wild West’ and that he was terrified he would eventually encounter a thug armed with a knife, intent on ransacking his shop.

The youngster, who lives with his parents, said it was his first job after leaving sixth form but said every day was a nightmare.

‘I feel I’m putting my life on the line. We’re doing too much. We’re trying to stop people stealing but it’s too much,’ he said. 

‘You don’t know what these people who are stealing have on them. You don’t know what weapons they might have or whether they might punch you.

He added he felt ‘powerless’ to stop criminals and was ‘scared’ for the safety of his female colleagues in store.

‘I will always walk with two of my coworkers to the car park at the end of the shift. It’s that extra bit of safety as it’s getting dark now.

On Black Friday and ahead the holiday rush, the worker said his colleagues were ‘anxious’ about the ‘chaos’ that would unfold, as well as the thieves looking to take advantage of it

Joe has now left his job and hasn’t secured another one yet.

‘It’s not the smartest option but I just had to get out. I was fed up,’ he said. ‘It will have a big impact on me financially.’

He declined to provide a picture or full name.

Britain’s stores are suffering two thefts every minute as retail theft has hit its highest level since records began.

A staggering 469,788 offences were logged in the year to June 2024, which is up 29 per cent on the 365,173 recorded in the previous 12 months.

It equates to a horrifying 9,000 offences a week and 1,290 a day – meaning there are two every minute for the average store’s 10 hour opening times.

A Motorola Solutions study of 1,000 retail workers found a quarter of workers had considered quitting their jobs and that six in 10 think their employers can do more to improve safety.

Panic buttons, video cameras and body-worn cameras are being rolled out across British supermarkets to make workers feel safer. 

Last year, Lidl became the first supermarket in the UK to give staff body cameras as a standard in its £2million fight-back against shoplifters.

John Lewis, Aldi and Primark are also among retailers handing staff bodycams to tackle Britain’s retail epidemic. 

Meanwhile, Boots monitors crime at more than 1,000 of its stores across Britain from a hi-tech security centre to help staff report shoplifters and monitor serial offenders. 

The site in Beeston, Nottinghamshire, receives about 600 alerts a day from shops which have six alarms that staff can press if they have suspicions about a shopper.

Nearly all 2,100 Boots stores have CCTV, with 1,200 of the biggest and busiest linked by the panic buttons to the monitoring centre.

Vivienne Francis, vice-president of channel sales EMEA at Motorola Solutions, said: ‘No one should feel unsafe at work, but our survey reveals retail workers’ concerns for their own safety and the safety of shoppers.

‘The concerns are amplified as we head into the holiday season, when shops are busier, stay open later and may be understaffed.

‘The need for enhanced security is more pressing than ever to help deter theft, de-escalate hostile customer interactions and simultaneously notify everyone, including 999, in emergencies.’

It comes as Britons are set to splash out on the biggest Black Friday weekend ever as they spend more than £3billion today – up 6 per cent on last year.

Consumers are expected to defy the cost-of-living crisis by spending £3.33million every minute today as they stock up on discounted Christmas presents.

But the majority of shoppers will stay at home with £1.92billion of today’s total to be spent online, up 3 per cent on last year. Offline sales will rise 10 per cent to £1.26billion – giving a total of £3.18billion, according to research by VoucherCodes .

Analysts believe that today by itself is set to just miss out on being a Black Friday record-breaker, with the 2021 sales total slightly higher at £3.20billion.

But it could be the biggest four-day weekend ever with a total spend of £9.14billion from Black Friday through to Cyber Monday – up 5 per cent on last year.

Nationwide said its customers had made 3.59million transactions by 12pm today – which was 11 per cent up on Black Friday 2023 and 17 per cent up on 2022.

MailOnline has approached Sainsbury’s for comment.