Pharmacy owner puts up ‘wall of shame’ in his shop window to stop thieves
A pharmacy manager has installed a ‘wall of shame’ of pictures of suspected shoplifters.
Whasuf Farooq, manager of Pak Pharmacy, has publicly shamed more than 16 people following a surge in crime at his shop in Saltley, Birmingham.
Not knowing their real names, Mr Farooq gave them nicknames as to what they allegedly stole, including ‘The Lynx Thief’ and ‘Nivea Man’.
But he insists his method is so effective, the thieves are returning to pay for what they owe.
Mr Farooq’s idea came after he said the police failed to investigate the stealing, despite having CCTV evidence.
He said: ‘Shoplifting has been a big problem here but the police don’t do anything to help us.
‘We’ve had 15 or 16 people on the wall in the past year. If they come and pay we take it down – it’s as simple as that, it’s no problem.
‘It’s decreased a lot, everyone thinks twice now. It’s like a deterrent, people walk to the door and turn around. People don’t want to be featured.
‘Naming and shaming works, people see them and tell us where they live or who they are. I do plan to keep it going.’
The pictures, which show the alleged thieves carrying out their crimes, also include funny captions mocking them over what items they take.
One man was branded the ‘Nivea Man’ after he stole some Nivea cream with staff telling him to ‘moisturise his crusty hands’.
In another, a mum was labelled a ‘big dummy’ after allegedly attempting to steal a dummy before blaming it on her child.
It read: ‘Don’t steal dummies. This big dummy thought she wouldn’t get seen then tried to blame the child. Looks like she needs it more than the child.’
Another caption says: ‘Mr Rad the man stole all the Lynx, hope he buys himself new trainers #whatarethose.’
Mr Farooq added: ‘Other shops are doing it now but no one is doing the funny captions which people seem to like.
‘One bloke came back to me telling me his parents had seen his face on the wall and he paid us back everything he owed in order to get his face taken down.
‘Other times people’s families have come to pay on their behalf. It has really worked for us.’
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