Dublin retail group ‘open’ to helping fund supports for people in addiction carrying out thefts

IRISH RETAILERS are being urged to help fund addiction treatment and supports for people committing retail theft to sustain drug use, as a former senior UK police officer said similar retailer-backed schemes are having a “transformative” impact.

Richard Guiney, CEO of Dublin Town, said retailers are open to new approaches:

“We need to think outside of the box, because the situation is getting worse, we are seeing more theft and more danger being posed to retail staff. So this is something we are open to.

“We support increasing the availability of Budival injections, because they mean that you don’t have people congregating in the middle of the city daily. It gives people more independence as well, and seems like a good option from a treatment perspective,” he said.

Retail theft has been rising in Ireland in recent years, with Central Statistics Office data showing theft and related offences at their highest levels in years. Shoplifting is a major driver, accounting for around 44% of all theft offences, with incidents of theft from shops increasing again in 2024.

CSO analysis of detected PULSE incidents from that year also shows that almost 50% incidents relating to theft, robbery and deception recorded were likely to be carried out by reoffenders. 

There’s a lack of available research on the link between drug use and retail crime in Ireland, but UK Government research has found that drug use is a factor in around half of crimes such as shoplifting, burglary and robbery. 

Against this backdrop, Dublin Town, a non-profit representing over 2,500 businesses, joined South Dublin BID representatives and Store Street gardaí to meet former Thames Valley Police Chief Inspector Jason Kew. 

Kew told the meeting that major retailers in the UK are boosting addiction supports for “prolific shoplifters” dealing with addiction by part-funding the hiring of ‘Business Crime Navigators’ – officers who identify repeat offenders and link them into the right treatment services.

He added that some retailers have gone beyond funding navigators, and have provided funding for individuals to start treatment through once-a-month Budival injections.

These injections serve as an alternative for methadone treatment, which often requires daily pickups or multiple pickups a week.

In Ireland, the HSE has had increased funding to further rollout access to Budival injections, but they are still only available in prescribing specialised drug treatment clinics, rather than through GPs or in pharmacies.

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The Journal has reported on how these injections can give people in addiction recovery more independence, but they are also a more expensive form of treatment.

Kew argues that funding Budival treatment in specific cases and through funding the employment of ‘Business Crime Navigators’ could be cost effective for Irish businesses.

“Businesses are losing thousands of euro in stock to retail theft, and we know that often the most prolific offenders are stealing because they need money to pay for drugs,” Kew told The Journal.

“The bulk of that kind of retail theft is probably being committed by a group of less than 50 people, and they will be known to businesses, to the Gardaí and to health services, but that knowledge isn’t joined up as it currently stands,” he added.

Kew has served as a drug strategy lead for Thames Valley Police where he has years of experience in this area, and as a drugs policy advisor to the UK Home Office.

He said that in response to the rising crisis of retail theft in Dublin, businesses have been asking for more arrests, “and rightly so”, but that often when people who are in addiction go through the justice system, it can end up inflicting more harm on them.

“People will be started on treatment in prison, and then if they cannot get that same treatment option when they come out of prison, there is no continuity of care and they end up in the same position again,” he explained.

Kew said that in his view, pre-arrest diversion to treatment is a more effective approach to drug possession in many cases:

“Retail theft is a symptom of addiction in many cases, is it right that someone go to prison for that? Absolutely not, and I’m saying that as a former police officer.”

Business Crime Navigators have been piloted in UK cities including Portsmouth and Southampton, where they work alongside police, Business Improvement Districts and local partners to identify prolific shoplifters and connect them with drug treatment and support services.

Evidence is still localised but suggests positive outcomes. Portsmouth, the city where the scheme was first piloted, reported that 60% of service users who engaged with navigators signicantly reduced their shoplifting and drug misuse compared to the six months before that engagement began.

Kew added that Ireland already has Operation Táirge, a dedicated national Garda operation tackling retail crime, and the Dublin Taskforce, with the latter bringing together agencies with a statutory responsibility for retail theft and crime.

“The introduction of Business Crime Navigators here could offer a different approach to the problem of retail crime,” he said.

Kew added that business representatives at the meeting were open to the proposal.

“Some businesses were hearing about this for the first time, and it can be a difficult concept to get your head around, but in multiple UK cities it’s proved really effective,” he said.

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