Charity insurance firm Ansvar has urged charity shops across Tyne and Wear, including those in Jesmond, to tighten security in response to the alarming rise in shoplifting cases in recent months, which are expected to continue growing during in the run-up to Christmas.

Adam Tier, head of underwtiging at insurance firm Ansvar said: “Unlike larger commercial retailers, many smaller charity shops rely on volunteers and operate on slim margins, making them particularly vulnerable.”

Office for National Statistics data shows that 18,468 cases of shoplifting were recorded by Northumbria Police in the year ending in June 2025.

In Jesmond, data from Police UK confirms that among the most reported crimes in September this year, shoplifting ranked in the top three, with 53 incidents reported in the area. Within 12 months, Jesmond had recorded some 692 reports of shoplifting.

With the Christmas season in full swing, JesmondLocal spoke to charity shops in and around Jesmond about how they feel about the threat of shoplifting.

Staff at Oxfam’s Jesmond shop declined to speak, but Rachel Hedley, a volunteer at the Newcastle city centre branch who has visited the Jesmond store several times, said: “It has gotten a lot worse recently – we are chaining items onto rails, and have had to put some items into cabinets [such as chocolate and coffee] because so much was being stolen.”

Allison Head, who works at the Mind charity shop in Jesmond, told JesmondLocal that while shoplifting has decreased, incidents still occur. “Since we’ve opened the shop up, it’s getting better, but you do get the odd person who is well-known in the area who do come and shoplift, and we are not supposed to challenge them,” she said.

Northumbria Police said that as a force it will take appropriate action to help charity shops overcome the problem. A police spokesperson said: “We understand and recognise the impact that shoplifting can have on businesses and those in our wider communities.

“To further protect shop staff, support business owners and reassure everyone who works within the retail industry, last year we made changes to strengthen our response to this type of offending.

“As part of these changes, we are now actively targeting prolific offenders and looking to problem-solve with retailers to reduce the volume of their offending.

The spokesperson added: “Our recent implementation of the National Retail Crime Action plan has seen us able to improve our outcome rate in relation to shoplifting reports significantly.

“Through the introduction of GoodSAM, which helps us gather evidence such as CCTV quickly and more effectively, we have also been able to enhance our response to such crimes.”

The impact of such thefts can be huge on charity shops, which often operate on smaller margins than bigger retailers. Ansvar’s Tier said: “Every item stolen from a charity shop represents funds that could have been used for essential services, such as supporting vulnerable individuals, funding research, or providing community programmes.”