Tesco shoppers divided after spotting unlikely item in security box

Tesco customers have expressed their disbelief after the supermarket appeared to take extreme security measures in one of its stores. Taking to a Reddit, one shopper shared a snap of the refrigerated aisle where cheese is the subject of anti-theft control.

The image showed £3.45 blocks of Tesco's own-branded cheddar and 30% reduced fat mature cheddar locked away inside plastic enclosures. "Security box?" asked the Reddit user in a caption. "Is there actually a cheese shoplifting epidemic?" It comes after the Office for National Statistics found shoplifting offences spiked by a staggering 23% to 492,914 offences last year compared to the previous year.

One confused Reddit user penned in response: "I've never seen these in Tesco and I've seen more expensive, just as pocketable items with no extra security. What are you suppose [sic] to do, ask an assistant to open it when you want to buy it?"

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A second person slammed: "Rather than help folk who can't afford to just buy food the conventional way we put it in security boxes!"

While a third joked: "How long is it before there's just a counter, and a guy, and you tell him what you want, and he fetches it from a big cupboard and passes it over the counter to you, and then you pay and leave and the next person in the queue steps up to the counter?"

Others admitted they weren't surprised by the measures, including one Reddit user who revealed: "Yes, anything will be stolen. When I was in an [Tesco] Express we had a guy who consistently tried to steal dishwasher tablets, he then went up the road to the local pub to sell them. It only stopped when one of our regulars went to see the pub manager and they barred the thief."

Another commented, claiming: "We lose about £200 worth of small confectionary (meal deal chocolate) in a week alone. Then it's cheese and Lurpak [butter] second. Then beef. It's really bad for shoplifting in stores.

And a third said: "My experience from working in a small shop for years as a teen: our most stolen items were packs of bacon, tins of tuna and cheese."

Last year, Tesco's CEO Ken Murphy spoke out about the retailer's investment of tens of millions into crime prevention measures, but was concerned efforts were still falling short.

These measures include providing staff with body-worn cameras, installing protective screens and implementing door entry systems at store entrances.

Tesco also established a hub team in Daventry, Northamptonshire, to analyse thousands of hours of CCTV footage - operating round the clock and sharing information with the police.

Speaking in May, Emma Sparrock, UK security operations centre lead at Tesco explained: "This is a huge step forward, and we're feeling motivated and ready for the new challenges ahead. Our commitment to ensuring the safety and security of our colleagues and customers has never been stronger."

All UK supermarkets use a variety of security measures, including placing certain items in security boxes, adding tags, or employing extra security staff.

Tesco says that, where necessary, some items in individual stores may be subjected to added security measures.