Gardaí have arrested more than 8,000 suspected shoplifters this year as part of a wide-ranging operation targeting a sharp rise in organised retail crime.
The focus of the operation is a number of organised crime gangs that travel the country to carry out shoplifting on a large scale. The stolen goods are then sold back into the retail chain.
Operation Táirge was launched in December 2023 in response to complaints from businesses that not enough was being done to prosecute shoplifters and protect retail staff.
Figures released by the Central Statistics Office in September show that theft crime is at its highest level in five years. There were 5,354 incidents over the previous 12 months, with nearly half involving theft from a shop.
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Retail groups say the real figure is much higher as many shopkeepers do not bother reporting thefts.
Gardaí said 8,460 people were arrested under Táirge in 2024. There were 20,052 charges or court summons issued.
Some of those charged had racked up a long list of suspected offences before being arrested. Last month, gardaí in north Dublin arrested a man aged in his 50s before charging him with 46 counts of theft and one count of assaulting a retail worker. A further 22 people were arrested and charged as part of ongoing investigations into thefts across north Dublin.
Minister for Justice Helen McEntee said retail theft is not a victimless crime.
“It not only has significant economic impacts on our retail sector, but also on staff retention, recruitment and personal safety.
“I have been engaging with retailers across the country and can assure them we will continue to work to tackle organised retail crime.
“A policing response is part of the solution and the work of Operation Táirge is already bearing fruit.”
According to estimates by the Irish Small and Medium Enterprises Association, the crime costs retailers more than €1.62 billion a year. Retail crime costs Ireland €339.31 per capita.
Goods stolen by organised shoplifting gangs are typically resold on the black market. This is done through a “fence” who buys the stolen goods and sells them at a physical location. The goods can also be sold online, in an activity known as “e-fencing”.
The gangs also defraud retailers by making false returns and seeking refunds.
Retailers in Dublin: “shoplifting is a huge concern”
As well as arresting large numbers of suspected offenders, gardaí have stepped up intelligence work targeting shoplifting gangs and have offered training to retail staff on security measures.
Gardaí maintained a close relationship with police forces in Northern Ireland and the UK throughoutthe operation and detectives used an intelligence-led approach to identify gangs engaged in retail crime.
Shop workers were also trained to recognise the signs and assisted in strengthening their security.
Gardaí have also targeted black markets where stolen goods are sold and have targeted the major gangs “through the use of organised crime legislation and proceeds of crime legislation.”
Last December, in advance of the launch of Operation Táirge, retail groups told an Oireachtas committee that shoplifting had increased massively since the Covid-19 pandemic and that thieves were becoming more brazen.
Julie Dorel of retail group Musgrave said that stores in the company’s SuperValu and Centra network report about 1,000 incidents a week. There is a “fearlessness” among thieves, she said.
“They’re completely brazen, completely aloof to any law,” said Noel Dunne, who operates a Centra in Dublin city centre and has to deal with two or three incidents a day.
“The biggest rise is 14- to 15-year-olds on electric scooters.”
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