Shopkeepers fight back against 'trolley gangs'

A perfume shop manager who tackled shoplifters to the ground is now helping other businesses protect themselves from "trolley gangs" targeting shops across her town.

Domonique Woodward, who runs Fragrance House, in Malvern, Worcestershire, was punched in 2023 as she tried to stop men stealing more than £1,000 worth of stock.

She recalled seeing bags coming out from underneath the thieves' T-shirts as they began ''swooping full shelves of stock'' into their clothes.

She ran towards them, grabbing one of the bags and "rugby tackled" one of the men to the ground.

"I wasn't expecting them to fight back," she said, but another man punched her as she tried to take the bag.

The men eventually left, abandoning the stolen stock.

Woodward said: "I've got a bit of a temper, so I just kind of looked at them and thought, 'no, this is my hard work, my money goes into this I'm not letting you get away with this'.

"How dare you think you can just walk in and steal over a thousand pounds' worth of stock?"

Since then, she has helped create a neighbourhood watch-style WhatsApp group for local retailers in the town, allowing them to warn each other when suspected shoplifters are spotted.

''They tend to be the same individuals, so as soon as one of us sees them, we alert other stores and track them through the area until they leave," she said.

She said the system was also helping charity shops in Malvern Link, which can be particularly vulnerable because of their large amounts of stock and reliance on volunteers.

"They've had a couple of instances where they've got away before they realise, with their trolleys filled," Woodward added.

The manager said police were also being kept informed, with officers providing advice and updates on prosecutions and support for offenders.

But the problem in Worcestershire is not confined to Malvern.

At the Blue Cross charity shop in Droitwich, Nicky Carr said theft was happening on average "every week and is arguably getting worse".

She said staff had become more cautious about confronting thieves.

"Over the years I have sort of chased people, but I won't do that anymore," she said, adding, "it's a different time now, people are armed with knives."

The shop had responded by increasing staffing levels, with Carr saying: ''It's something in retail you almost have to expect."

To tackle the issue, she explained the shop had ''more eyes out there than ever before'' with support from the centre security team and PCSOs (Police Community Support Officers) in Droitwich who regularly visit local businesses.

Just last month, businesses joined police in the town and the town council for a meeting to raise concerns, highlight issues and discuss possible solutions.

But despite a wider police presence in the town, businesses say thefts are still happening.

For one new business in Droitwich, the impact has been particularly painful.

Visionnaire, a newly opened boutique optician on Hanbury Street, had more than £1,500 worth of glasses stolen just days after opening.

The owner was away taking her partner to hospital, leaving her mum to mind the shop, when a man entered and asked to see expensive Marc Jacobs and Tiffany diamante frames before taking several pairs and running away.

"Because it's my practice and my personal store, it really hit a lot harder," she said.

She described herself as "heartbroken" and her mum had struggled to return to work since the incident.

The business has since introduced a locked-door policy, which she said makes her and her mum feel "much more comfortable" but is not ideal as a new business and can feel quite lonely at times.

The theft added to growing concerns among businesses and charities in Droitwich, where retailers have been meeting police and the town council to discuss how to tackle shoplifting.

Shoplifting offences across the West Mercia Police force area, which includes Herefordshire and Worcestershire, have risen 27% over the last decade.

Typically, about three in every 10 cases led to a criminal conviction.

Sgt Duncan Reynolds has worked with the city centre neighbourhood team for 12 years and said the problem had not necessarily become worse, but it had changed.

"I think it's evolved and changed in the type of people doing it, what they're stealing and the amount involved," he said.

He identified three main types of shoplifting.

The first involved young teenagers stealing cosmetics and branded beauty products.

He said police had an increase in girls aged 14 to 16, which he believed might be linked to the cost of living and pressure to keep up with peers, which involved "out of court solutions".

The second involved people addicted to drugs, with some stealing to fund crack cocaine habits.

"We're seeing an increase in these individuals stealing on a much more frequent basis and a higher volume," he said.

The third was organised travelling gangs, targeting towns and cities to steal goods worth thousands of pounds for resale, the officer explained.

Police are now working with businesses on a new "ban one, ban all" initiative, designed to make the city centre a more difficult place for shoplifters to operate.

"During a quiet week, we might only get two or three offences, whereas in a busy week we could get 20, often involving two offenders addicted to crack cocaine," Reynolds said.

"With the help of CCTV, we can now identify those offenders quickly, making it more difficult for them to operate in this area."

Follow BBC Hereford & Worcester on BBC Sounds, Facebook, X and Instagram.