Owner of The Parsley Pot in Bury St Edmunds shares personal toll as shoplifting attempts rise

A Bury St Edmunds business owner has seen an increase in people attempting to shoplift and says she takes it ‘personally’ every time her town centre shop is targeted.

Suzanne Cooper, owner of The Parsley Pot, in Abbeygate Street, said she had seen a rise in people attempting to shoplift since the pandemic ended.

Before she installed CCTV cameras and employed more staff in May, about £200 of stock was stolen every month. However, each week Suzanne and her staff are having to deter thieves. Items which had been taken in the past included jewellery, Jellycat and Maileg children’s toys.

“Since we reopened after Covid we were super busy and that all seemed to be going well and then in the last six to eight months it has got increasingly worse,” she said.

“I take it very personally – it’s like they’re taking money out of my own purse.”

To tackle the problem, Suzanne said she displayed products differently, alarm tagged items, and brought in more staff on the rota, particularly at weekends – which were added expenses for the business.

But she said a bigger police presence and prosecution would also help deter thieves.

“That deters people if they see police officers walking in the street. We have had slightly more presence.

“We do prosecute – we’ve got cameras so we have prosecuted two people before. But it’s very hard because you have to give the police every bit of evidence.”

Chief inspector Andy Pursehouse, of Suffolk Police, said: “There has been an increase of late, although it’s difficult because of the Covid effect because during Covid we saw a decline.

“It is on the increase but we’re still not seeing those levels from pre-Covid.”

Mr Pursehouse said shoplifting was an underreported crime but that the police were taking a proactive approach in tackling the issue.

“If shops do let us know when it’s happening then we can target those patrols in the right places,” he said.

“We will record every crime that is reported to us and we will investigate it. It’s about a working partnership with business owners themselves but also with local councils, the business improvement districts to try improve security and CCTV in the area.”