Retail crime leads to billions of loss amongst European shop owners. ANP
BRUSSELS (ANP) – Retail crime leads towards 7,6 billion euro loss amongst European shop owners. Of this, 250 million on the account of the Dutch shop owners. These results were published last Wednesday in a report on shoplifting in Europe that had been commissioned by ‘Detailhandel Nederland’ and the Belgian ‘Unizo’ (both retail organisations in the Netherlands and Belgium)
These losses are mainly caused by shoplifting, burglaries and ram-raids that are more and more conducted by Eastern European criminals. Some of these criminals disappear straight after the committed crime over the border. Yet, according to the report, more and more groups stay for a few days in the same country, finding themselves a temporary shelter at family members or friends.
‘Detailhandel Nederland’ would like to have this type of crime addressed at European level and see a bigger role and responsibilities in the future for agencies like Europol. In addiction the organization pleads for a standardized European Criminal Record as a countermeasure towards retail criminals.
