The chairman of a new Chambers Ireland body intent on tackling retail crime, Supermac's Pat McDonagh, outlines the main areas that need to be addressed

'The scale of the problem is huge and it"s damaging businesses ... the amount of shoplifting in Ireland is two and half times greater than the UK’

 
Pat McDonagh, managing director, Supermacs and Retail Crime Council chair, Chambers Ireland

The run-up to Christmas is the most profitable time for retailers but it’s not all good news for the sector as crowded shops exasperate a more negative side of the business. The first initiative of the Chambers Ireland’s recently formed Retail Crime Council was to take action to counter increasing criminal threats faced by Ireland’s retail community, a problem that is heightened in the busiest season of the year.

The council has called on the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform Michael McDowell TD to allow businesses to pay for increased garda presence where and when they feel it is needed.

"The retailer faces growing difficulties in relation to pilferage, street violence and vandalism,” explains Retail Crime Council chair Pat McDonagh. “The scale of the problem is huge and it’s damaging businesses. Just to put it in perspective, the amount of shoplifting in Ireland is two and half times greater than the UK.”

This is just one of a series of statistics from research by Chambers Ireland (see panel) on the consequences of crimes that impact on retailers in a number of ways. Along with higher insurance premiums and increased security costs there are issues relating to staff satisfaction and retention, especially where violent crime occurs. Worse still, a retailer in an area of increasing social deprivation may face recruitment difficulties and, in some extreme cases, closure.

In its submission for a public-private partnership whereby retailers can pay for extra policing, the Retail Crime Council has asked for an extension to an existing provision rather than a radical change in policy.

Under the Garda Síochána Finance Code, policing on major sports and music events can be requested and paid for, in part, by the organisers. Chambers Ireland would simply like to see this service made available to retailers who are willing to pay the premium.

FIRST-HAND EXPERIENCE

As managing director of the Supermac’s restaurant chain, the chair of the council has first-hand experience of the local problem but also of the possible cure. “If you want a precedent for using the police in this way look at America,” says McDonagh, who has a number of restaurants in Indianapolis.

In the US, off-duty uniformed police are available for hire to businesses and are recruited through police stations which ensure that all arrangements remain legitimate. “If I contact the local chief superintendent I’m able to hire two police overnight if I need them,” says McDonagh. He believes the presence of uniformed police, with powers of arrest, provides a significant and more credible deterrent to anti-social and criminal behaviour than privately hired security personnel.

ANTISOCIAL BEHAVIOUR

McDonagh also has strong views on handling antisocial behaviour and believes there are other lessons we can learn from the US.

“In the past 10 years I’ve seen a huge increase in antisocial behaviour that has had a significant negative impact on shop owners. I put a lot of it down to the level of alcohol that’s being consumed,” he says.

“If you’re caught selling alcohol to underage customers in America, you’re closed down and that’s it. I know they’ve tried to copy the model over here but I don’t think it’s been that well implemented. The laws are there but they’re not enforced as much as they should be.”

McDonagh was a natural choice as chair of the new Chambers Ireland council. A man who never shies away from bringing big issues to a wider audience, he made the news a couple of years ago when he highlighted how fraudulent insurance claims were costing his company and many other retailers a small fortune. The introduction of CCTV systems has seen a drop-off in claims and he’s confident that focusing on other crimes related to the retail sector will deliver equally impressive results.

The 10-strong council is made up of a broad selection of retailers including Superquinn, Mosaic Fashions, Woodies DIY and Shaw & Sons and representatives from some of Ireland’s largest shopping centres including Dundrum Town Centre, The Square Town Centre and Blanchardstown Shopping Centre. Meeting every two months, the council tackles a wide range of issues.

INCREASED VIGILANCE

While part of its agenda is to look at funding a greater garda presence, it also recognises that fighting crime is not just about police support. Increased vigilance and sharing of information (such as patterns of crimes committed by known offenders) will also be on the agenda as well as practical help in terms of designing premises to be safer and less conducive to shoplifting. “

A big part of the council’s remit will be about retailers learning from each other’s experience, co-operating with the gardaí and helping the implementation of the law,” says McDonagh.

“It’s about making it more difficult to pilfer or vandalise. It involves staff training but it’s also about cooperation from the general public.”

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