Rotherham traders: There's no point calling police any more

A FURIOUS shopkeeper is shown grappling with a shoplifter in shocking footage revealing how brazen town centre thieves have become.
Sarad Yousaf owner of Phones R UsSarad Yousaf owner of Phones R Us
Sarad Yousaf owner of Phones R Us

CCTV filmed by Saraq Yousaf at his Effingham Street store Phones R Us includes one clip of the trader confronting and forcibly removing a thief who walked in and began grabbing memory cards displayed on the wall (below).

Another seen by the Advertiser shows a different shopkeeper angrily remonstrating with a shoplifter after chasing him down the street.

Other scenes caught on camera include one where two hooded figures walk off with armfuls of artificial flowers from outside a shop and several where thieves swiped phones from Mr Yousaf’s shop.

Mr Yousaf said the clips showed shoplifters no longer bothered to be secretive or subtle — a view echoed by other traders — and many shopkeepers confirmed they had stopped reporting all incidents to the police because officers never came out to investigate.

South Yorkshire Police insisted this week that it did carry out regular patrols but traders disputed this claim.

“The thieves have become so brazen,” said Mr Yousaf.

“I’m not sure if it’s just become more of a problem because the police are not doing anything — they think they can get away with it.

“I’ve been in the town centre for 15 years and there’s so much more crime now.

“It seems there’s some sort of incident every other day with shoplifting or windows being broken.

“It used to be once every six months — it is definitely getting worse.

“Every day there’s a criminal running around with security guards chasing them down the street.”

Mr Yousaf said the memory cards incident had “really shocked” him, adding: “I confronted him and managed to get him to give them back and he ran off.

“I didn’t even bother reporting it to the police because nothing happens — you never hear anything back.”

Mr Yousaf referenced last week’s Advertiser front page, which revealed burglaries had fallen by a third, saying: “Maybe they’re spending their time on dealing with burglaries — they’re not spending it in town.”

One shopkeeper said he had been targeted by numerous shoplifters in recent weeks.

“There’s no incentive round here for these people not to steal,” he said.

“There are no police on foot patrol. You used to see PCSOs occasionally but not any more.

“They (thieves) wait outside the shop until you’re busy with a customer then they grab what they want and run away.”

A member of staff at one shop said they had stopped calling the police about shoplifting, adding that she understood they would only investigate further if items worth more than £60 were stolen.

Another shopkeeper said: “If they have a chance to steal, they will take it.

“It’s not just individuals — they come in groups and when you’re dealing with one of them they take what they can get.

“Police? It’s a joke. There’s no point calling them.”

Staniforth’s bakery on Effingham Street was recently targeted by a thief who kicked in the door and stole two charity boxes from the counter — one for Rotherham Hospice and the other for the Kidscan children’s charity.

“There’s no police presence,” she said. “We see them (thieves) all the time being chased along the street. 

“It’s a simple issue of needing more police.”

Det Chief Insp Martin Tate, of South Yorkshire Police, said the police had to allocate resources “proportionately and based on demand”.

He denied officers did not respond to shoplifting unless the goods were worth more than £60 and said all crimes were investigated.

Mr Tate urged shopkeepers experiencing shoplifting to contact their local neighbourhood policing team.

He said police officers “look at preventing issues and try and understand the problem to stop the demand for shoplifting before it turns into a crime, to assist shopkeepers and stop them (thieves) targeting the premises”.

Mr Tate added: “There’s a number of reasons why shoplifting happens — one of these is because people are desperate, and a number of people are homeless and they feel that’s the only option.

“We can look at working with our partners in housing and support agencies to make sure they don’t need to resort to crime.”

Mr Tate said some shops had expensive items on display, adding: “You should be looking at what you can do to prevent it from happening.

“We can work with shops to help them understand where their most vulnerable goods are.”

A police spokeswoman said: “We want to reassure the community that our dedicated team of neighbourhood and response officers regularly carry out patrols in the area and are taking action to tackle this.”