'It wasn't like this four years ago. It was a nice job'

RUNNING A local convenience shop was a "nice" job four years ago, but "at the moment it's really stressful", says Angelika (who did not want to give her surname), manager of a Londis branch in Dublin city centre.

"It's 24/7 watching customers. Shoplifting is going on so much, every day, all day."

Asked what are the main items stolen, she gestures to a cold cabinet along one wall, displaying beer and cider.

"Alcohol, minerals, mostly the beer - and food. That is what we see. We have a security guard on Thursday, Friday and Saturday night. To have one during the days would be too expensive."

Although there hasn't been a violent incident in the shop for three years - when a member of staff was badly beaten up - she says groups of people in the shop, intent on stealing, can be intimidating for staff.

"Four come in, one goes to the deli, one to the ATM, one is messing around, you know exactly what they are at, but you can't watch all of them. It is stressful.

"The women with the kids too. The kids take the stuff and you can't say anything to the kid, you know? You can't touch them, so you say to the mother: 'Please stop your child stealing.'

"The whole day can go by and you don't see one garda outside. There aren't enough gardaí in this country, I think. The situation has got worse. It wasn't like this four years ago. It was a nice job."

Zanetta Vasi, manager of the Spar shop near Connolly train station in Dublin, says shoplifting is a "big problem, definitely".

There was a violent incident a year ago, she says, but the main problem is stealing.

"Basically they come in and take magazines, sweets, deli stuff. They order five rolls and just walk away without paying. Big families come in, maybe eight people, they make a scene and noise and the children run out with stuff. I think it has definitely got worse with the recession. People are stealing to eat. It is frustrating for us, though.

"We have a security guard on at night and he is local. He knows who people are and how to talk to them."

By the Luas tracks on Middle Abbey Street, Nico Kelapetseng is a security guard in a branch of Eurogiant, where the "shoplifting is very constant".

He also has to deal with open drug-dealing and fights starting outside the door. "The best thing is to pretend not to see it."

He knows the body language of shoplifters. "First thing they come in and catch my eye as they walk past. They want to know if I am watching. It is easier if a garda is on patrol outside. They don't come near if they see that flashy yellow jacket."

Kelapetseng particularly dislikes people using children to steal. "You see them come in with a buggy and the child is walking. They go around the back and come out and the child is sitting very still in the buggy, and you know behind the child is something.

"That's really terrible. 'What are you doing to your kids?' I say.

"Sometimes the children come and take things and the parents are waiting outside."