Tesco has placed security tags on popular confectionery items, including £3 Quality Street boxes, amid a shoplifting epidemic.
The boxes of wrapped chocolate are a staple for many at Christmas, but one Tesco branch in Covent Garden is making sure that only paying customers get to enjoy the delicious treats.
Other goods being wrapped in nets and fastened with tags include Celebrations, Guylian Seashells, Lindt, Ferrero Rocher and Toblerone.
Each outlet of the supermarket giant is understood to be in control of their own security measures - as this new policy has not been implemented nationwide.
It comes amid a wave of shoplifting incidents up and down the country.
Last year saw 430,000 shoplifting cases recorded across the nation, according to the Office for National Statistics, the highest on record and over 33 per cent more than the previous year.
However, the actual figure is thought to be much higher.
Incidents of violence and abuse in shopping centres had risen by 65 per cent from 2021-22 to 2022-23, according to a report by British Retail Consortium.
A recent survey from the trade association also showed that incidents of violence and abuse against staff had risen by 50 per cent.
Tesco has installed 4ft smoke devices in some of its stores to "deter thieves" from raiding shops following a spate of break-ins.
The supermarket giant has also issued body cameras to its staff in an attempt to deter customer attacks and theft.
Meanwhile, Sainsbury’s has started to use AI to stop people from stealing alcohol.
Freedom Case, produced by Indyme, is a locked self-service cabinet enclosing high-priced spirits and customers looking to purchase them will need to complete a four-screen touchscreen process to open the shelf.
The chairman of Marks and Spencer has claimed that police are “not interested” in dealing with shoplifting offences.
Archie Norman, who served as the Tory MP for Tunbridge Wells between 1997 and 2005, claimed retailers were being forced to spend “a lot of money” on trying to keep crime rates down.
He argued a drop in shoplifting rates at M&S stores was “mostly” due to the work the retailer has undertaken to tackle offences.
He told LBC: “We get very little help from the police.
“I think we have to accept that the police are not interested in this sort of crime anymore.
“Whether we like it or not, that’s the way it has gone.”
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