Scottish store staff are experiencing increasing acts of violence, including harpoon gun and machete attacks, as shoplifting cases reported by stores have increased exponentially.
As reported by the BBC, the number of shoplifting cases reported has increased from 24,877 in 2021-2022 to 56,920 in 2025-2026, a 129% increase over four years, according to figures provided by the Scottish government.Â
Criminal gangs are stripping shelves clean using sacks, backpacks, and even wheelie bins, “stealing to order” high-value goods, such as energy drinks and baby powder, which can then be resold.
Kate McCrae, retail operations director of Co-op, told BBC Scotland’s Scotcast that there has been an increase in targeted shoplifting cases where violence is involved. “We’ve seen weapons – guns, machetes, knives. But we have had some extremes where we’ve had harpoon guns, for example. You can’t even imagine the scenario. But I have seen one person hospitalised when somebody threw a fire extinguisher at him in the face,” she says.
“Organised retail crime has become much more organised”, according to Insp Emma Wright of the Retail Crime Task Force in Police Scotland. They have been known to use vulnerable individuals as well as youth to commit their crimes. She added that there has been an increase in figures due to increased confidence in reporting cases.
“The Co-op is using measures such as locked wine cabinets and GPS tagging of steaks” has led to reduction of retail crime in the supermarket by 20%.”
