Home Bargains offers £500 reward to anyone who helps catch shoplifters at its 580 UK stores
SAVVY shoppers have the chance to bag themselves £500 if they can help catch shoplifters at Home Bargains.
The discount retailer with 580 UK stores nationwide is set to reward any customers who aid in their crack down on theft.
Bargain hunters have also been urged to use the budget chain’s hotline where shoplifting intel can be shared anonymously.
The number can be seen at the entrance to most branches on cardboard cut-out of cops.
Anyone who helps bring down a thief can scoop a hefty £500 reward if their information leads to the “arrest and successful prosecution of anyone committing a criminal offence” in the store.
As reported by the MailOnline, Home Bargains have warned all criminals that every shop is kitted out with CCTV in their bid to reduce shoplifting figures.
If someone is caught in the act they can be prosecuted through the police and/or by the brand.
It comes as a rise in thefts across the UK have led to many major stores issuing more extreme security measures.
The rise in supermarket stealing has seen many items security tagged or being advertised as “display only”.
Hundreds have turned to pinching essentials to feed their families as the nation struggles amid soaring cost of living.
Police recorded 339,206 shoplifting incidents in the 12 months to March, yet the British Retail Consortium estimates the total number of retail thefts to be close to eight million.
Meanwhile, just 48,218 shoplifting cases recorded by the police, a tiny fraction of 14 per cent, resulted in a charge.
One store boss told trade magazine The Grocer: “With the cost of living, people are having to start making choices.”
Food poverty expert and Ulster University lecturer Dr Sinéad Furey said: “The return of ‘stealing to eat’ instead of being able to afford to eat is proof we need policy solutions so resorting to crime does not become a mainstream means of securing basic essentials.”
Meanwhile, staff at the UK Addiction Treatment Group have seen an “astronomical” rise in people seeking help with shoplifting addiction.
The rehab and recovery centre has averaged around 30 calls a week this year compared to just ten a month in 2022.
And, The British Retail Consortium said cases of shoplifting are rocketing.
There were 7.9million last year — 5million up on 2016/17.
This means the cost to retailers in the period has gone from £503million to £953million.
Many supermarket giants are now seeking further security measures.
Professor Joshua Bamfield, Director at the Centre for Retail Research, claimed the superstores want to bring in facial recognition CCTV so they can quickly find problem shoppers.
And, industry giants including Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Boots, John Lewis and Waitrose are now issuing staff with bodycams.
Plus, Waitrose and John Lewis have offered police officers free coffee in the hope that their presence will deter shoplifters with a plan.
In 2014, the Government downgraded the stealing of goods worth less than £200 to a summary offence in almost all cases, often punishable by a feeble £70 fine.
Shoplifters who plead guilty can pay their fines by post without even having to appear in court.