Shopkeepers have called for more action following a marked increase in shoplifting incidents in the West Midlands.
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00:00We've experienced a lot of increase in crime recently, particularly after the cost of living
00:06increases, particularly because of that. So yeah, and it's reflected amongst a whole lot of other
00:12shopkeepers. We all try to keep in touch to see who's walking around and about
00:18and keep each other clued up. And I remember one time we had a chap who,
00:24and it's fuelled by drugs of course, he's walking off with our fruit trees,
00:28and they're not cheap, about £35, £40 each, and every now and again an apple tree will disappear
00:34or a plum tree. And the grocery shop further down the road, he caught up with me and said,
00:39have you noticed somebody's been coming and taking your fruit trees? And I said, yeah.
00:44And he said, we know who it is because we've seen who's been walking past with them. We definitely
00:48know he's not purchasing, he's not that type of person. So yeah, the next time he comes we'll
00:54point it out to you. And so when he walked past next, he quickly called me over and says,
00:58there's the chap. So three or four of us rushed round down to Stoney Lane and surrounded him and
01:04said, OK, what do you think you're doing? You're nicking our fruit trees, aren't you? And I said,
01:08prove it. And I said, the whole High Street is my proof. And I said, basically, if I see you again
01:15in the High Street, there's going to be serious repercussions. You're not wanted around here.
01:20Everybody here knows who you are, right? So disappear off. And we'd never saw him again.
01:25So obviously, he's gone somewhere else to ply his trade. But it's something that we have to
01:29do ourself because it's the sort of thing, I mean, I thought to myself, shall I report it?
01:35What shall I report? I haven't seen anything. I don't know who's done it until the time when
01:39it actually happened. And so we've got to take the opportunity to sort it out there.