Marlow: Local businesses crack down on shoplifting

Its eclectic handful of independent shops nestled between Michelin-starred restaurants and cafes hosting community groups surely wouldn't have to contend with the same degree of crime as more urban and densely populated parts of the county. 

Such assumptions would, however, be very wrong. And shopkeepers say they are being left with no choice but to take measures into their own hands after a 'scary' rise in thefts in the area. 

This newspaper has been investigating the impact shoplifting has on the retail sector in Marlow and has learned that one owner, frustrated by the number of unsolved crimes in the town, decided to take action. 

The owner of the gift shop Twenty-Three Living on Marlow High Street, who asked to remain anonymous out of concern for her safety, created the 'Shop Watch' community group at the beginning of 2023 as a way for retailers to share intel on repeat shoplifters in the town and to prevent crime from occurring when there is no guarantee of justice being served after the fact.

 "Shoplifting has been a very frustrating issue for me personally in the past. I own my business, so if someone walks out with a £60 jumper, that's £60 directly leaving my pocket. I set up Shop Watch after speaking to other shop owners and learning they also felt there was little they could do to stop it happening.

"Police action simply isn't a strong enough deterrent. One notorious shoplifter was in court recently and got a suspended sentence, then, the very next morning, they were marching up the High Street with their giant Sainsbury's bag, ready to do it again."

Crime statistics show that over 12,000 shoplifting offences were committed across Buckinghamshire as a whole in the year up to June 2023 – up from around 10,000 in 2022.

110 shoplifting incidents were recorded in Marlow between February 2023 and January 2024, compared to 440 in High Wycombe during the same period, according to Police UK data. However, local shop owners aren’t reassured by the numbers and are concerned that a large number of offences are simply not being followed through.  

Thieves don't appear to discriminate between the range of businesses in the town - just some of the shops recently targeted include Marlow Toys, Laurent's Deli and the Helen and Douglas Trust and British Heart Foundation charity shops.

Matthew Tipping, 29, who has worked in Marlow Toys on the High Street for 12 years, said he has observed a clear increase in shoplifting over the last two years, to the point where he believes the town would benefit from regular police patrols. 

"We have our own CCTV cameras, so we do report thefts when they happen, but unless it's over a certain amount the police don't want to know. It's normally the same offenders and if they're not caught the first time, they'll just come back to try their luck again.

"The only thing we can do is catch them on the way out - I won't accuse them, and we're not meant to grab them, so I'll just say, 'Excuse me, have you forgotten to pay for that?'"

His co-worker Finley Pullman, 20, added: "It's always nerve-wracking when it happens because you don't know if they're going to attack you or have a knife or something. It can be a bit ridiculous, too and it's definitely not about need. Someone ran out with a huge Lego set once."

Karina Silver, 52, who manages the British Heart Foundation, said she is concerned that shoplifters are taking advantage of the store's young volunteer staff to pilfer pieces of clothing and trinkets - offences she can usually only spot in hindsight.

"We keep as much of an eye as we can, but more often than not we'll find an empty clothes hanger or a box after something's been taken. It's easy for professionals to do it without drawing attention to themselves and we can only have two people on the floor at any time. At a bigger store, they can afford much more."

Cherry Chadzynski, 67, who works at Stocks boutique on Spittal Street, suggested much of the shoplifting in Marlow was down to organised crime gangs and described the targeting of small and independent enterprises as "disgusting".

"It's a really scary thing, especially when people assume they can get away with it. I think the Shop Watch group is a great thing - if I see an alert and think that I'm in any danger, I'll lock the door straight away.

"Most of the shoplifting that goes on here is not coming from a place of genuine need, and it's having a real impact on businesses and their profits."

Shoplifting appears to be on the rise across the UK, with overall theft offences increasing by 10 per cent year-on-year in 2023 and rising from 52,000 to 60,000 in the Thames Valley.

Matthew Barber, Police and Crime Commissioner for the local force, introduced a new crime-logging system, Disc, across the region last October in a bid to help police catch repeat shoplifting offenders.

Speaking to the Free Press back in the autumn, he said: “I’m conscious that a lot of retailers feel they haven’t had the support they’ve wanted from the police in recent years.

“Disc is built on intelligence sharing, so it may not be something that (solves the issue) instantaneously, but it does make it easier for retailers to secure a prosecution.

“We are also in the process of deploying more officers to front-facing neighbourhood roles – a really important part of preventing these offences is being more visible and acting as a deterrent.”

Thames Valley Police has been approached for comment.