Buying on your doorstep - Do you know the real cost?

As police officers we understand the economic struggles everyone faces at the moment. One consequence of this is the rise in shop theft and we see meat, laundry products and increasingly, confectionery including chocolate bars, stolen almost wholesale.

These items are often sold, door to door in a manner that has been going on for generations. People say ‘It’s a cheap and easy way to feed the family' ‘It’s all branded so it's from these big supermarkets, it's practically a victimless crime. They're insured' 

Is that true?

The reality is that these items more often come from the smaller, local versions of the supermarkets, the store you use around the corner, the store where your cousin works, the shop where your friend works. These are the people who suffer threats and abuse from the man stood on your doorstep selling you that cheap meat. 

That pack of steaks you might buy off him isn't victimless. You and I pay for it many ways. Your cousin might see their hours cut because of costs and the money handed over quite probably goes toward drugs, making each and every one of us less safe on the streets. 

Please, if you see someone going door to door selling items, let us know. Each and every one of us has a responsibility to keep each other safe. The practice of buying on the doorstep supports the industry that is shop theft and makes everyone that little bit less safe.