‘I own a shop in Leeds city centre - and shoplifting is costing me thousands’

A Leeds health food shop owner says he has lost thousands of pounds to shoplifting after seeing a rise in thefts.

Damian Tapper, who has run Out of this World organic shop for 22 years, said the independent business has “struggled a lot” with shoplifting, but believes the problem has become particularly bad over the last few years.

The shop on Central Road in Leeds sells organic and vegetarian food, supplements and deli products.

Damian said the thefts are not usually people stealing food to eat, but taking products which he believes are intended to be resold.

He told the Yorkshire Evening Post: “We’ve seen them swiping entire shelves full of goods.”

The business has introduced a number of measures to try to prevent theft, including CCTV cameras and keeping its more expensive products close to the tills.

“A lot of our products have to be kept behind a cabinet locked away,” he said.

“We also print off pictures of the repeat offenders and put them in the doorway, which seems to help deter them.”

The latest West Yorkshire Police data, made available on Leeds Observatory, shows every shoplifting crime recorded between July 2025 and June 2026.

There were 10,069 shoplifting offences recorded across the city during the 12-month period, with 2,719 recorded in Leeds city centre.

The figure is down slightly from the 10,650 shoplifting crimes recorded across the city between July 2024 and June 2025.

But Damian said the problem has got worse for his business - and that his staff have had to follow suspected shoplifters out of the shop and, on occasion, recover stolen goods themselves.

“We’ve got to be so careful not to get into a physical altercation,” he told us.

The shop cannot afford to employ security guards, which Damian believes makes it more vulnerable to being targeted.

West Yorkshire Police said it had seen a fall in recorded shoplifting offences in recent years, as well as an increase in charges and cautions for theft from shop offences - up from 27% in 2023/24 to 42.4% in the 12 months to the end of August this year.

Superintendent Matt Scott said: “We are not complacent though and are committed to working with partners to take a longer-term problem-solving approach to deter offending and improve investigative opportunities when offences do take place.”

Damian said he would like to see more police officers patrolling Leeds city centre on foot, arguing that a quicker response could make a difference to independent businesses.

“Quite often by the time the police get here, it’s too late and we’ve lost the goods,” he added.

Supt Scott highlighted the Leeds Business Crime Reduction Partnership, a new member-based business partnership recently launched by LeedsBID.

The scheme includes a live radio network and intelligence portal where crime and anti-social behaviour can be reported to help police and the council take swifter action.

Supt Scott added: “We would continue to encourage those working in the retail sector to report offences to us.

“We regularly conduct both uniformed and plain clothes operations in our key retail locations across the district and by understanding any patterns to offences we can ensure that we are putting our resources in the right places.”

A Leeds City Council spokesperson said: “Leeds City Council works closely with retailers and key partners, including West Yorkshire Police and the Leeds Business Crime Reduction Partnership, to maintain a longer-term problem-solving approach to shoplifting in the city centre and the societal issues which are often associated with it.

"This joint approach has led to Criminal Behaviour Orders being issued against prolific offenders in Leeds, as well as numerous arrests and other positive outcomes in terms of tackling this issue.

"Work is ongoing to secure more of these orders, and the city centre is regularly patrolled both overtly and covertly, so officers can build intelligence on those causing the most harm to the retail sector and take action when crimes are reported."