Glasgow shopkeepers have told the Record they are fighting a losing battle against “untouchable” child shoplifters as young as seven, and are calling for a law change to ensure children who steal and intimidate shop workers see real consequences.
The calls come just days after data revealed the number of children caught in possession of stolen goods has almost doubled in four years in Scotland.
Shopkeepers describe ‘losing battle’
Glasgow city centre business owner Amjid Bashir said he and his staff are being met by gangs of masked youths – as many as 20 at a time – who storm his store and take what they like.
Another city shopkeeper, Mohammad Rajak, says businesses are powerless to stop young thieves helping themselves for fear of being labelled child abusers.
Retail crime has been escalating in Scotland for years, but hardworking shop staff want more support over a new wave of crime waged by increasingly youthful perpetrators.
Theft makes retail dangerous
Theft not only destroys businesses through missing stock, it makes retail a dangerous profession for those left to tackle the issue alone.
Amjid says a law change is needed to ensure children who steal and intimidate shop workers see real consequences.
The Scottish Government says it is investing millions in tackling retail crime and police say they are doing all they can, but young people also need to be safeguarded from harm and coercion into criminal behaviour.
Better police resources and tougher punishments are needed to ensure shop staff can continue to protect their businesses – and themselves.
Barlinnie water crisis condemned
Prison bosses need to get a grip on a water supply problem at Scotland’s most notorious nick.
Concerned families have warned that inmates in Barlinnie, including many on remand who have yet to stand trial, have been left unable to wash or flush their toilets for almost a week.
They are right when they say inmates’ health, hygiene and dignity matter just as much as anyone else’s.
The fact they are in Barlinnie at all sums up the dismal state of the country’s penal system.
The crumbling Victorian jail in Glasgow’s east end should have been closed years ago and its continued use is a stain on Scotland’s supposedly progressive political establishment.
System ‘a mess’
A hugely expensive replacement for Barlinnie is under construction, but no firm opening date has been set.
Nationalist ministers have repeatedly let offenders walk out from their sentences early in a desperate bid to ease an overcrowding crisis that has dragged on for years.
There will still be a shortage of cell blocks even when the new HMP Glasgow is finished. The system is a mess and must be fixed.
