London Costa Coffee branches hire ‘security guards’ to stop food thefts

A major coffee chain is beefing up security at some of its shops after reports of theft increased, to help support staff.

A small number of Costa Coffee branches are introducing the measure in London and Manchester.

A spokesperson for Costa said the move is aimed at supporting staff and keeping stores safe.

A Costa spokesperson said: ‘Like many retailers, we continually review security measures across our stores and, in a small number of locations, have introduced additional support where appropriate.

‘These measures are in place to support our teams and help ensure our stores remain safe and welcoming environments for everyone.’
Shoplifting incidents have risen 20% year-on-year to 2024, reaching the highest level since records began, according to official figures.

It’s not just coffee shops facing the issue either.

Last year, one of London’s most famous high streets trialled a new method to stop shoplifting from its stores.

The Strand in the West End of the city has seen an uptick in shoplifting, prompting shops to enact a ‘locked door’ policy.

Signs warning shoppers to wait to be let in have been put up on doors, with one reading: ‘Please knock and a member of staff will be with you shortly.’
In larger cities like London and Manchester, retailers are often helpless when it comes to addressing the major issue.

Violence and intimidation of workers is also of huge concern to groups representing retail and security workers.

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The rising cost of living has been widely cited as the key reason fuelling the surge in retail crime, with research showing a link between deprivation and the hardest-hit areas nationally.

Counter-measures taken by retailers include replacing products on shelves with dummy products or label tags, investing in better CCTV, hiring security guards and body cameras for staff.

In 2023, a Co-op branch in Walthamstow began putting out empty coffee jars in a bid to stop shoplifters after prices increased.

In Birmingham, GPS tracking cases were spotted on shelves at the Co-op food and petrol shop at Harborne.

Emmeline Taylor, Professor of Criminology at City St George’s University of London, previously told Metro: ‘Criminals are just very quick to adapt, and that sets them apart in terms of how professional they are.

‘They’re approaching this as a business, rather than being just opportunistic.’
Professor Taylor said the epidemic has caused some bigger chains to say they might close out of concern for not operating safely.

By her analysis, she estimates that less than 3% of shoplifting offences are reported to the police.

Of those, over half are closed with no suspects identified.

‘When you put those two figures together, you can quite confidently say theft has been decriminalised in the UK,’ she added.

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