'Shoplifters will take anything': Life in a theft hotspot

As I enter a shop on Grimsby's High Street, I feel watched. Partly by the keen eye of the shopkeeper but also thanks to the presence of numerous CCTV cameras perched in each corner.

The owner tells me he sees shoplifting every day.

I'm on Victoria Street West, which is a hotspot for shop thefts. According to data gathered by the BBC, it is where nearly 10% of recorded incidents in North East Lincolnshire take place.

Figures also show there are 15.7 incidents of shoplifting per 1,000 people in the local authority area. The national rate is 8.1.

Further down the street, I meet Kathryn Dawe, a charity shop manager who says someone attempts to steal from her shop at least twice a week.

"I think it is the lowest of the low," she says.

"We're a not-for-profit organisation so everything that gets taken from our shop means that that's a potential sale that we've lost."

As we talk, she keeps one eye on her shop, watching out for any trouble.

She says shoplifters will take "anything", from gift sets to clothes, and dealing with it has become a normal part of her job.

Across Grimsby, I speak to Terry Wood. Once known for prolific shoplifting in the town, with hundreds of convictions, he says his life has been transformed since he began volunteering for the organisation which helped him, Wizer.

It is an organisation that rehabilitates offenders, some of whom have substance addictions.

The 44-year-old sits opposite me as he tells me he is two years clean after a 30-year drug addiction.

"I was banned from most of the shops in Grimsby," he says. "I know what I was doing wrong, any crime you do is wrong."

He explains he would have done "whatever it takes" to get money to support his addiction.

"When I use drugs, my thinking's all distorted and I can't control what I do next. I end up in prison, on the streets, living feral on the streets, in a sleeping bag," he says.

He adds that life before Wizer was dark.

"Justifying my actions to do the same stuff over and over, bringing my body to the depths, to my knees, spiritually, mentally, emotionally broken," he says.

Wood now helps others in the "thick of addiction" as a volunteer for Wizer.

"[I] make them a brew, make them feel welcome and take them to appointments.

"I know when I was in the thick of it, in the carnage, I couldn't make an appointment."

Near another shoplifting hotspot, it doesn't take me long to find a frustrated shop owner.

Janatheepan Nagalingam is the manager of a corner shop on Park Street.

He tells me he his shop is targeted by shoplifters twice a month.

But those who steal from him run the risk of having their faces plastered online, including on TikTok where he says he uploads CCTV footage of shoplifters.

"One lady was shoplifting... I put it on TikTok... I told everybody this lady was shoplifting," he says.

Nagalingam reports some cases to the police, but if he sees someone he is suspicious of he will not allow them inside.

It is not the first time I have heard of shopkeepers taking matters into their own hands.

Earlier this year, I met Rob Ellis, who runs a store in Hull city centre. He told me he locked potential shoplifters in his shop until stock was returned.

Statistics compiled by the BBC show that North Lincolnshire, North East Lincolnshire, Hull, Lincoln and Boston all have shoplifting rates above the national average.

If violence or a threat of violence is used, the crime is classified as robbery, and these statistics are not included in shoplifting figures.

Statistics also show the area covered by Humberside Police has the eighth highest rate for shoplifting, with 10.1 incidents per 1,000 people.

Data shows that during 2024-25 there were 9,317 recorded shoplifting offences, rising to 9,706 in 2025-26.

Chief Insp Claire Jacobs, the force's lead for retail crime, says: "We recognise the impact that shoplifting can have, which should not be underestimated.

"We are a smaller force but we are effective, and we care about our communities and delivering the best possible service with the highest standards."

Jacobs says the latest Office for National Statistics crime figures showed a 40% "positive outcome rate" between August 2025 and July 2026, which refers to the amount of recorded crime ending in action such as charges, cautions or community resolution.

"We continue to monitor local trends in shop thefts and work hard to address specific issues such as hotspot locations and repeat offenders," she says.

Back in Grimsby, I speak to Tee Khan, managing director of Wizer.

"I think the most critical thing we need to try to understand is what the why is – not what someone's done, but why someone is doing it," Khan says.

"We find that they sometimes are involved in shop thefts and it's because of the vulnerabilities that they're facing."

Homelessness, mental health problems and drug dependencies can be underlying factors for some offending, he adds.

"We need to understand what drives individuals to do that," Khan says.

"We need to address the root causes of it."

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