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July 2022: A 31-year-old person wants to shop at Migros branch in the center of Glatt, Zurich for about 1323 francs, such as electronics, toys, meat. Lots of meat: organic ribeye 198 francs, veal schnitzel 130 francs and grated meat 252 francs. However, his Subito device only scans nine items worth 40 francs, which is randomly checked and captured at check-out.
In addition, a store detective had previously observed how the mother of two young children was sliding the goods in her shopping cart between two shelves so that the expensive meat was no longer visible from the outside. He was in court last week.
Everything was stolen in Switzerland: the woman is not an isolated case, but part of a new record – crime statistics recorded 19,781 thefts in 2022, 3,000 or nearly 20 percent more than the previous year and a new record since 2009. .
Most cheese and fresh meat are stolen
Although this is probably only a small fraction of what was actually stolen: theft becomes an official offense only for goods worth 300 francs or more; below this threshold, it is up to the branch to decide whether or not to report it. In some cantons there is also a simplified procedure without notification.
Meat and electronics are most popular with Swiss thieves; worldwide cheese. Expensive Parmesan varieties are particularly popular in the retail trade, and some are resold. That’s according to a report by the British Retail Research Center that examined 1,187 retail chains in 43 countries. Cheese theft is so rampant that more than four percent of the production volume produced worldwide is stolen.
Across Switzerland, retailers are likely to lose hundreds of millions of francs each year due to such crimes. Neither Coop nor Migros, Aldi, Lidl disclose current figures; But in June 2022, a Migros spokesperson said of “20 minutes”: “One percent of the sales at the crates will probably forget scanning.” With a turnover of approximately 30 billion, this would amount to 300 million francs per year.
A survey of retailers in Germany showed that around 3.2 billion euros worth of goods were stolen in 2021.
Inflation can exacerbate the problem: “Higher prices and values make theft more interesting,” the study says.
Inflation creates new thieves all over the world. In the US, 70 percent of all retailers are reporting an increase in the number of cases. In the UK, retail thefts reported to the police increased by 16 percent in 2022. Like the inflation rate, they hit their highest level in 45 years. Meanwhile, British supermarkets began to protect their cheddar and butter with locks.
And in Switzerland? Lidl writes that there has been a slight increase in thefts recently. Since last summer, the discounter has been electronically securing even cheaper items, such as pieces of lamb, for 10 francs, especially since fresh meat products are stolen so often. Migros and Aldi record fixed figures, Coop does not provide any information.
More than one in ten people have already stolen something
However, rampant petty crime keeps everyone busy. Because something is stolen, especially at the self-check-out counters, which are increasingly trusted by discounters. The reasons are clear: if you’re no longer in front of anyone, the blocking threshold drops, and in the event of a review, you can always declare an item “forgotten”. But such a trick is almost never seen in a statistic.
Florim Abazi, owner of the security company Prime Security and himself a store detective (see article on the right), discovered during his investigations that much more had been stolen. And: “Our customers have been increasing their budgets for security measures for several months now.”
In fact, retailers have stepped up their pace. In response to the self-check-out fraud, Migros Genossenschaft Zurich has installed test barriers at the end of December 2022 at self-service checkouts in six stores that only open after scanning the receipt. Barriers are also used in Aldi and Lidl. «St. Wales Tagblatt also wants to increase the security of the Migros self-scanning system. They don’t give much detail.
Security cameras are already heavily used, and both Coop and Migros are known to employ store detectives – Coop employs its own and outside staff. Both retail giants have several such positions advertised. Lidl and Aldi do random checks, but otherwise rely on “regularly trained” and “attentive staff”.
Retailers emphasize that the majority of their customers are “honest and friendly people.” But if you ask the customers themselves, the situation is different: According to a survey by internet comparison service moneyland.ch, about half of the 1,500 respondents have already stolen something. More than a tenth Swiss woman and every tenth Swiss man steal something at Migros or Coop, often even one percent.
It is unknown whether the mother of two children in the Zurich case is a repeat offender. The court sentenced the 31-year-old boy to a conditional fine of CHF 70 each, 45 per day, for a total of CHF 3,150. The thief escaped the requested 700 franc fine. Paying the procedural costs of CHF 3,700 is deemed to be a sufficient penalty.
In court, the convict said he would “never again” buy the self-scanning device. At least he’s not allowed to do that in his “Migros” either: the branch in Glatt gave him a home ban.
Source :Blick
I’m Tim David and I work as an author for 24 Instant News, covering the Market section. With a Bachelor’s Degree in Journalism, my mission is to provide accurate, timely and insightful news coverage that helps our readers stay informed about the latest trends in the market. My writing style is focused on making complex economic topics easy to understand for everyone.
