Clothing is most shoplifted item in Brussels

About one-third of the reports of shoplifting in Brussels come from clothing stores, making clothing the most frequently stolen item in Brussels shops, reports brusselnieuws.be. The actual number of thefts is much higher than the number reported, says the federal police.

Brussels shopkeepers in 2013 reported 3,066 cases of theft to the police, and in 927 of the cases it was clothing that was stolen. "However, the figures do not correspond to reality," Peter Dewaele, spokesman for the federal police told brusselnieuws.be. "Retailers tend to only let us know when they have witnessed something being stolen. If they just have a suspicion that things are disappearing and they find that they need to order more than they sell, we usually don’t hear from them. That’s why we suspect the number of thefts is much higher than the reports show."

After clothing, food, perfume and beauty products top the list of the most shoplifted items in Brussels. In the rest of Belgium it is not clothing, but food that is most often stolen. "The enormous concentration of clothing stores in Brussels is the most logical explanation," according to Dewaele.