Glasgow shop owner alleges mother taught toddler to steal sweets

A Glasgow shop owner says CCTV shows a girl she believes was about three hiding sweets and other products in her pyjamas during a visit with her mother and a younger sibling. The owner alleges the child had been instructed to steal and that the other family members created a distraction; these are her claims, and the incident has been reported to police.

The footage was recorded in October, and the shop owner says the family later took items to the till, including some the child had put down. Scotland recorded 53,369 shop thefts in June, according to figures cited in the article, a 19 per cent rise on the previous year and nearly double the total a decade earlier. The owner says she shared the footage to draw attention to retail theft, despite receiving criticism for doing so.