Spate of city centre robberies highlight dangers and impact of retail crime
Retailers in Belfast were left reeling following a spate of robberies across the city over the weekend in which cash was stolen and staff threatened.
In what were frightening ordeals for staff, two of the incidents were armed robberies, with the suspects threatening shopworkers with knives.
The first incident occurred on Saturday 1st March when shortly after 12.20pm a report was made to police that a man had entered a shop in the area. He approached the till and threatened a female member of staff.
The suspect then made off on foot with a quantity of tobacco and cash, towards the Glen Road area after the incident.
“The male is described as being 6ft in height and wearing dark-coloured clothing, black quilted style coat, grey tracksuit bottoms and white trainers,” said Detective Sergeant Faulkner.
The second incident occurred later in the afternoon of Saturday 1st March, when an armed robbery took place at an off licence on Agincourt Avenue in south Belfast.
At around 4.25pm, police received a report that a man had entered the premises, where he threatened two male staff members with a knife.
Thankfully there were no injuries, however police described this as an “undoubtedly traumatic incident” for staff on a busy Saturday afternoon.
“It was reported the offender made off on foot with a sum of money and a quantity of tobacco, towards the Botanic Avenue area following the incident,” added Detective Sergeant Faulkner.
“The man is described as 5ft 10 in height, wearing a black-coloured jacket with a grey hood, black bottoms and light-coloured trainers. He is believed to have been wearing a blue-coloured surgical mask and a red glove.”
In the third incident, on Sunday 2nd March a 20-year-old man armed with a weapon entered a shop in the Antrim Road area of north Belfast at around 7pm.
Wearing dark clothing and a mask, he threatened a member of staff with a knife, before demanding money. He then fled on foot with a sum of cash from a till, along with a mobile phone.
Detective Sergeant Kitchen said that while there were no physical injuries sustained, this was a “frightening ordeal for this staff member” and those who were also in the shop at the time.
“Officers responded and a short time later the suspect was detained in the Castleton Gardens area of the city,” said Detective Sergeant Kitchen.
The suspect remained in custody at the weekend as enquiries continued.
‘It’s not acceptable that retail staff in Northern Ireland have to operate in this climate of fear’
Director of the Northern Ireland Retail Consortium, Neil Johnston condemned the incidents and said they showed a need for a tougher response.
“Shockingly, retail crime continues to skyrocket – both shoplifting and violence or abuse of shopworkers,” said Mr Johnston.
“The BRC Crime Survey suggests violence and abuse has ballooned, rising over 50% in the past year and 340% since 2020. Again, this tallies with PSNI crime figures published in December which showed the offence of ‘violence without injury’ reaching a peak in 2022/23 but thankfully falling back more recently. Many of these offences involve retail or hospitality staff.”
Mr Johnston did highlight that Northern Ireland is actually a low-crime region, with the PSNI pointing to decreasing crime levels in many areas, however the blackspots are shoplifting and violence without injury.
“It’s not acceptable that retail staff in Northern Ireland have to operate in this climate of fear,” he added.
“A greater effort is needed across the criminal justice system to get this situation under control and protect workers and customers. The Northern Ireland Retail Consortium has worked closely with the shopworkers union – USDAW – to highlight this issue and to press for action.
“The Scottish Parliament made assaulting a retail worker a specific legal offence a couple of years ago and that helped highlight the extent of problem. Westminster has just introduced a similar measure to Parliament.
“NIRC and USDAW wrote to the Naomi Long, the Justice Minister, on this subject and following a meeting last October, she announced that she intended to adjust her proposed Sentencing Bill to make assault of public facing workers a specific criminal offence.
“We very much welcome this move by the Justice Minister. We will be impressing on Assembly Members the need to make this measure a priority over the coming months. We hope it will become law as soon as possible and that the PSNI use it effectively to combat these appalling attacks like these.”
