Hungry thieves ransack food stores

STAFF REPORTER THE recession is being blamed for soaring rates of robberies from food shops and supermarkets on Majorca. With some families finding it difficult to make ends meet from one month-end to the next, a new generation of “food thieves” is emerging, justifying its actions on the grounds of “not having enough to eat.” Faced with rocketing losses because of theft, some companies have decided to tackle the issue themselves through hiring the services of companies specialising in security to monitor the situation. One such organisation has come over to Majorca from Barcelona and produced a report for a chain of food stores on the island. The report claims that the rise in supermarket crime has burgeoned particularly over the last six months. Rates of “food crime” however, differ greatly from one area of the island to the next. The company says that on average, theft has increased by 30 percent in outlying areas and by 35 percent in Palma. But there are apparently some locations where figures are noticeably higher than others - supermarkets at these points are reporting losses which have multiplied by 200 percent over the past six months.