Danes Shoplift 'Like Never Before' Amid Record Inflation

In September, Denmark’s inflation rate jumped to double digits for the first time in four decades, reaching 10%. Electricity and gas prices were singled out as the main factors driving the rocketing prices, which, according to researchers, make people more prone to shoplifting to make ends meet.

Theft in Danish shops and supermarkets is on the rise throughout the country, following a record surge in prices.

According to the National Police, shoplifting has gone up 23% over the past six months, compared with last year, a sharp increase following years of steady decline.

At Kvickly supermarket in Odense, department store manager Søren Nielsen described the situation as “people stealing like never before,” pilfering everything from cheese to perfume.

“We have talked significantly more about theft over the past six months. Thieves are becoming more creative, so we must follow suit,” department store manager Torben Dahlgaard from Southern Jutland told Danish Radio, blaming exorbitant prices.

In some supermarkets, the surge in theft has been so palpable that they made the drastic decision to close self-serve checkout aisles.

Incidentally, a similar opinion was shared by customers.

“People don't have the money they used to. It might entice them to do things you shouldn't”, Lis Christensen from Rødekro told Danish Radio.

The scope of the problem is so severe that even the Danish Chamber of Commerce is taking measures.

“We are preparing for an autumn when we fear that there will continue to be an increase in shoplifting,” chief consultant Henrik Lundgaard Sedenmark said, stating that virtually all members working in retail sales are already experiencing a rise in theft. He also stressed that not all theft appears in statistics.

According to Rasmus Munksgaard, an assistant professor at Aalborg University, the number of shoplifting incidents tends to increase when inflation is high. He cited research that says that when money becomes less valuable, the motivation to commit theft increases.

Furthermore, Munksgaard singled out three shoplifting groups. The first is people who steal to survive. These thieves often don't have enough money for the next meal. The second is people who resell the loot, as stolen goods are increasingly profitable in times of crises. Lastly, the third group is those who steal to get an adrenaline rush and who find it exciting.

In September, Denmark’s inflation rate jumped to double digits for the first time in four decades, reaching 10%, Statistics Denmark reported, citing electricity and gas prices as the main factors driving the rocketing prices.

Earlier, Denmark’s central bank warned that soaring inflation poses the biggest threat to the economy, envisaging a recession in the coming year as well as the possibility of a self-reinforcing wage-price spiral. Against the backdrop of consumer confidence being at a historic low, the Chamber of Commerce expects a dramatic fall in both private spending and an overall slowdown in the Danish economy.

Previously, Danish authorities have warned citizens of looming outages in the coming winter and even lowered down temperature in public buildings, as Europe's unprecedented power crisis following Brussels' sanctions against Russian energy begins to bite. The spike in energy prices exacerbated by the EU's hardy restrictions fanned the flames of the widening cost-of-living crisis, prompting the struggling governments to funnel billions of euros into relief and compensation measures.