A group of boys, all under the age of 12, used to frequently steal various items from Spar at Walkinstown Roundabout. The group would send one of them, an eight-year-old, to divert the attention of staff members while the rest took items without paying. They were all finally banned from the store three years ago. Subsequently, the shop received a solicitor’s letter alleging defamation against the eight-year-old boy. Although shop owner Caroline Looby was keen to dispute the claim, a settlement of €12,000 was eventually reached out of court through the shop’s insurance.
In an unrelated incident, a teenager in Dublin’s city center was suspected of stealing a can of Coca-Cola. However, when the police arrived on the scene, he presented them with a receipt from another store as proof of payment. This misunderstanding resulted in the retailer having to pay €12,000 in settlement fees for a defamation claim outside of court. Separately, an undisclosed shopkeeper mentioned having to pay thousands of euros following a defamation claim over an allegedly stolen package of chewing gum.
The Convenience Stores and Newsagents Association (CSNA) is pushing for the reformation of the Defamation Act, which would grant privilege to shopkeepers who accuse someone of shoplifting, as part of their “Stop Crime Against Retailers” campaign. According to Emer Higgins, Minister of State, a new legal definition benefitting retailers is in the works. This would offer qualified support for those genuinely engaging with the issue of shoplifting. Further specifics, however, remain under discussion. Higgins indicated that Helen McEntee, the Minister for Justice, has been made aware of the issue.
Shopkeepers are calling for stricter measures including the adoption of UK-style antisocial behaviour orders (Asbos) and the introduction of overnight courts, to combat rising retail crime. This urgent plea was made during a well-attended meeting of shopkeepers at Dublin’s Fallon & Byrne, wherein attendees expressed their frustration with the increased criminality because they are viewed as lucrative victims, particularly amid the Covid-19 pandemic.
A recent study involving 1,500 CSNA members revealed that each had been a victim of some form of retail crime in the past year, ranging from petty theft to violent hold-ups. Alarmingly, 76% of respondents reported financial losses, with over a third of these losses exceeding €10,000 annually. Two-thirds were dissatisfied with the official Garda response time, while half admitted to being subjected to internal theft by staff.
Numerous shopkeepers shared personal accounts of increased criminal activities. Seamus Griffin from Griffin Retail Group, a Dublin central resident since 1989, insisted that the situation has drastically deteriorated, citing instances of shoplifting happening five to six times daily, with culprits showing blatant disregard for the law.
John Cauldwell, owner of a Spar on O’Connell Street, decried the condition of the street as an “absolute disgrace” and called for immediate action.
Third-generation Limerick retailer, Michael Gleeson, resonated with the same sentiment, fearing a bleak future for the family business due to ever-increasing criminality. He criticised the brazen attitude of shoplifters who break the law without any fear of consequences and pointed out the burden of dealing with violent and addicted individuals. “We are not operating a shop anymore. It feels more like a social services centre,”, he noted remorsefully.