The brutal reality of Britain’s shoplifting epidemic: Tearful charity shop owner reveals harrowing toll of daily struggle with thieves and violent customers who attack him

A charity shop owner has revealed he is verbally abused by customers ‘at least twice a week’.

Tone Jarvis-Mack, founder of The Fertility Foundation, says aggressive behaviour and shoplifting is ‘out of control’ across Britain’s retail sector.

And the 54-year-old believes charity shops are specifically targeted by criminals due to the belief ‘we get stuff for free’, even though every theft deprives good causes of crucial funds.

Other charity shop owners have complained of a ‘significant increase’ in thefts and anti-social behaviour, while overall retail crime is surging – with a 20 per cent annual increase in shoplifting offences.

Mr Jarvis-Mack has now decided to install a facial recognition system called Facewatch at his shop in Waltham Cross, Herts, in a bid to protect staff against thieves and customers who turn violent over minor issues, such as refund disputes.

One particularly nasty incident, caught in CCTV and phone footage shared with MailOnline, saw a woman who had previously been barred from the store hit him and – in front of customers – outrageously claim he was a child abuser.

The thug also threatened to smash the windows of the house Mr Jarvis-Mack shares with his partner and kill their dog before she was arrested by police and convicted of assault and public disorder.

Tone Jarvis-Mack, founder of The Fertility Foundation, says aggressive behaviour and shoplifting is 'out of control' across Britain's retail sector

Tone Jarvis-Mack, founder of The Fertility Foundation, says aggressive behaviour and shoplifting is ‘out of control’ across Britain’s retail sector

The woman (who has been pixelated in CCTV supplied to MailOnline) walks behind the shop counter to confront Mr Jarvis-Mack

The woman (who has been pixelated in CCTV supplied to MailOnline) walks behind the shop counter to confront Mr Jarvis-Mack

Police arrived at the shop and removed the woman, who was arrested for assault

Police arrived at the shop and removed the woman, who was arrested for assault

Sharing his story, the shop owner told MailOnline: ‘We banned the woman because she was rude and threatened me. She didn’t come back for years but one day she just walked in and started screaming abuse when I told her to leave.

‘She accused me of being racist – although, like her, I am black – and then homophobic, but I’m gay so that didn’t exactly work either! She was saying she knew where I lived and she’d get someone to smash my windows and kill my dog.

‘This went on for a good hour when we phoned the police three times. We didn’t say a word to her after the first exchange and let her rant. We have CCTV, but I also started recording on my phone so there was audio.

‘At that point – as you can see in the footage – she lunged at me to try and grab my phone and caught my hand with her nails. About 10 minutes later the police turned up.’

The incident happened in June 2023 but Mr Jarvis-Mack has decided to share his experience to raise awareness of retail crime.

The woman, who was in her forties, was arrested, convicted of assault and handed a restraining order. 

The Fertility Foundation, which raises money to help fund IVF for people who cannot afford it, now uses Facewatch to recognise repeat offenders so they can be barred.

Mr Jarvis-Mack says this had led to a reduction in shoplifting. 

The Fertility Foundation raises money to help fund IVF for people who cannot afford it

The Fertility Foundation raises money to help fund IVF for people who cannot afford it

The shop's branch in Waltham Cross, a town just to the north of London in Hertfordshire

The shop’s branch in Waltham Cross, a town just to the north of London in Hertfordshire

‘The police were amazing – they couldn’t have supported us any more really, we now have a restraining order against her too,’ he said. 

‘The abuse I received was shocking and put me on anti-depressants for six months.’  

Sadly, his experience is far from unique.

According to the Charity Shops Survey, branches across the UK have reported rising levels of shoplifting, verbal abuse, and anti-social behaviour.

One, Tenovus Cancer Care, reported a ‘significant increase’ in thefts, describing offenders as acting ‘more brazenly, while Longfield Community Hospice issued banning letters to repeat offenders and began issuing personal alarms to staff.

Separately, Guild Care, which operates 15 stores in Sussex, closed most of its changing rooms due to ‘rampant shoplifting and anti-social behaviour’. 

The charity noted a marked increase in such incidents since the COVID-19 pandemic and the financial crisis.

Overall retail crime is surging across the UK. In 2024, England and Wales recorded 516,971 shoplifting offences – a 20 per cent increase year-on-year. 

It is not the first example of criminals targeting charity shops. This footage shows a thief walking out of a children's charity store in West London with a TV

It is not the first example of criminals targeting charity shops. This footage shows a thief walking out of a children’s charity store in West London with a TV 

The man is seen calmly walking out past customers during the middle of the day

The man is seen calmly walking out past customers during the middle of the day

The British Retail Consortium estimates 20 million theft incidents occurred last year, costing the sector £2.2 billion, with much of the increase linked to organised gangs

Nick Fisher, CEO of Facewatch, said: ‘Sadly, no part of the UK retail industry is untouched by criminal activity today including our nation’s much-loved charity shops, which do so much to support vital causes.

‘Through our Take Back Control campaign, we want to shine a spotlight on the real experiences retail workers face daily while on the shop floor.

‘Behind the almost daily headlines and statistics – like the 20 per cent year-on-year rise in shoplifting, or the 1,000-plus incidents of violence and abuse suffered by shop workers every day – are real people simply trying to do their jobs.

‘As we share their stories, we’re also showing how live, accurate facial recognition systems can help protect them. 

‘From corner shops to charity stores to large retail businesses, Facewatch enables stores to take back control by significantly reducing crime and making stores safer for retail employees.’

In another example of retailers investing in technology to deter shoplifters, Tesco has now followed its rivals to begin installing AI detectors at self-checkouts.

A bird’s-eye-view camera above each of the tills records the shoppers scanning and packing their items.

The till will show the shoppers an instant replay of themselves failing to scan the products. The new feature has been likened to Video Assistant Referee (VAR)

The till will show the shoppers an instant replay of themselves failing to scan the products. The new feature has been likened to Video Assistant Referee (VAR)

The camera uses AI to detect when something has not been scanned correctly. 

In a video shared to Instagram that has amassed close to three million views, a shopper shows how the new software works.

The man is seen correctly scanning a tin of tuna, but then just moving a bottle of milk over the scanner and into the bagging area to make it look like he has.

The till then showed the shoppers an instant replay of himself failing to scan the products.

Any aspiring robbers will see the message: ‘The last item wasn’t scanned properly. Remove from the bagging area and try again.’

The new feature has been likened to Video Assistant Referee (VAR) – the system used by officials to replay incidents in football matches and review potential errors.

One user commented below the viral video: ‘The security guy watching VAR with you somewhere.’

Hertfordshire Police confirmed the woman had admitted assault by beating and two counts of using threatening behaviour that caused alarm or distress. 

She was fined a total of £260 and was given a restraining order.

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