The recent news item about the Morrisons’ staff member who was sacked for tackling a thief got me thinking about my own encounters with shoplifters in the 1970s

They used lots of different methods and you had to be alert to spot them all. There were no electronic tagging systems in those days and no cameras so you had to rely on the diligence and alertness of your staff. 

I certainly don’t want to provide a master class on the best shoplifting methods so my explanations might be a little vague, but I’ll try to illustrate what I experienced.

On a busy Saturday I’d normally post a male staff member (the larger the better) at the front door to deter the casual thief but that certainly didn’t stop the organised ‘gangs’

(More on them later.)

There was also a rota for ‘Changing Room’ duty where a staff member would check the number of items being taken in and out. We had a two item policy so if the customer only had one piece of clothing to try on then the staff gave them another piece of stock to take into the changing room

This seemed to work well until I found one pair of trousers folded to look like two over two hangers! The thief had calmly walked out wearing the stolen pair under his own jeans.

How long had that been going on?

Another favoured method was an Oversize Coat with enormous inside pockets. I spotted a young guy wearing one in my shop on a warmish May morning and was immediately suspicious. He saw me watching him and made for the door.

I grabbed his collar and he immediately let his coat drop and ran out onto the street. I didn’t give chase, because out there is ‘their domain’ and you can’t rely on passers-by to help.

I used to drum this mantra into my staff, especially the young new starts. 

Inside the coat were 2 x 2′ wide and deep pockets that had four pairs of folded jeans in each. A good haul for him, but on this occasion a better result for me. But again I asked myself, just how many times had it been successful before then?

Another of their strategies was the Booster Box. A large sturdy box with a sprung flap on the underside. The thief would hold it under one arm then grab as many smallish items as they could and stuff them into the box. The flap hinge only opened inwardly preventing any of the stolen merchandise falling out. 

I once witnessed a woman steal hundreds of pounds worth of stock from the M&S ladies underwear department while her accomplice kept a look out, or in Glasgow parlance ‘Keeping the Edgy’

I looked around to alert a member of staff but there was none to be found!

Why was I in the M&S Ladies Underwear Dept. I hear you ask….

No I wasn’t predicting the hilarious scene from the classic 90’s sitcom ‘Father Ted’ where 8 priests are ‘trapped’ in a large underwear dept.

No I was in fact browsing for a St. Valentine’s Day gift for my girlfriend.

Honest Yer Honour! 

Glasgow at that time had it’s very own version of Fagin, who mentored, trained and controlled a team of teenage pickpockets and shoplifters.

I only ever saw him once in a well known city square. I was returning to work after my lunch break and spotted an unusual scene.

There was a short, stocky 45 year old man dressed in a scruffy black suit with obviously dyed, jet black hair. 

He was holding court with about a dozen acolytes aged 12-15. The reason I initially noticed him and his entourage was that I recognised two of the kids who I’d ejected from my shop the previous weekend.

I never saw him again as he didn’t do any of the actual crimes himself.

But I relayed his description and those of his gang to my staff.

Yet another method of shoplifting I personally witnessed, and this one, I have to admit, was pure opportunist genius, was the Delivery Heist! 

Every couple of days the shop received a stock delivery. The driver would park outside the shop and open the back of the large van. 

An orderly queue of shirt sleeved staff would line up. The driver would pass a large plastic bag of stock, 15 hangered jackets, 20 pairs of trousers or 30 shirts into their waiting arms. The staff member then carried his bundle into the shop and down to the stock room.

Then rejoined the queue.

A guy watching this scene, took his jacket off and dropped it behind a nearby bin, rolled up his shirt sleeves and joined our queue.

The driver duly handed him a bag of stock and before anyone could react he sprinted up the street pausing only to snatch up his jacket. He was gone in 30 seconds!

A couple of months later I was called out to a 2am attempted shop break-in. When I arrived there were two young police officers in attendance! One of the front windows had been smashed but it didn’t look like anyone had gained entrance to the shop. 

I unlocked the door and switched off the squalling alarm. One cop stayed at the front door and the other accompanied me to search the shop for any intruders. There were none.

I called the 24 hour window replacement company Hurry Bros who said they’d be there in 30 minutes to board up the broken window. The officers offered to stay until they came but I said it was okay for them to go and thanked them both.

After they’d gone I noticed that there were two empty spaces on the large sunglass display unit at the front door. Two pairs of Foster Grants had gone! 

I knew this for sure because I had personally re-filled the stand before I’d left and locked up at 5.30pm the previous evening!

Mmm….The prosecution rests M’Lord.

Another audacious theft story was related to me by a family member.

It happened in Arnott Simpsons in the late 60’s. The furniture department’s manager was on his lunch break and when he returned one of his female assistants confidently told him that 

‘The three piece suite had been collected.’ ‘What three piece suite?’ the manager demanded.

‘Erm the brown leather one’ she replied, now less confident.

‘Three men came in and said they were here to pick up the suite and take it to the Paisley branch’

“Did they show you any paperwork? Did you phone to check it with Paisley?”

“We’ve been robbed!” The manager lamented staring at the now empty space on the sales floor.

So here’s the story: Three men in brown duster coats, waited for the manager to leave the sales floor, they probably had it timed to the minute. 

One of them approached the staff and told them their tale. Then they lifted the 3 seater sofa and carried it to the goods lift, descended to the loading bay and placed it into a waiting van. 

No CCTV in those days. They then calmly returned for the two chairs and loaded them into the van. The staff actually held the doors open for them. They were in and out in 15 minutes!

The manager eventually and very reluctantly phoned the head office where he no doubt received a torrent of abuse. He also phoned the police who arrived to interview all the staff.

They all agreed that the men were medium height, medium build with no distinguishing marks, charming and wore brown duster coats. 

Amazingly the case was never solved…….

The two women who had ‘assisted’ the gang were taken aside and politely asked if they wanted to be placed in …

‘The Witless Protection Unit’

(Post by Mark Arbuckle from Clydebank, May 2026)