A Steak in the Heart of the Community
By Jack Cranmer
Under Lock: Steaks are no longer able to simply be picked off the shelves.
It is well known that the cost of living in this country has spiralled out of control, and due to this, the poorer, more deprived sections of our communities have become increasingly isolated and almost understandably, some have resorted to desperate measures.
A recent viral video on the social media video-sharing app TikTok, posted by local wrestling promoter Mark Dallas, showed him casually shopping around his local Iceland in Clydebank, picking up and showcasing a £6.50 steak contained in a security-tagged box.
Dallas commented on the video saying, "I'll sleep easy tonight knowing the succulent sirloin steaks, priced at £6.50, are safe from the Clydebank steak bandit."
The comments below the video show the complete bewilderment felt at what seems such an extreme measure, with one commenter posting asking “Is this for real?” expressing bewilderment at the measures taken.
Other commenters found it funny, however taking a closer look at the situation it seems that there must be a history of theft of these items and other similar products such as packs of Lurpak, as well as cheese products as suggested in the comments, to justify the locking up on these GPS tracked security boxes.
This is not just related to Clydebank, with commenters reporting similar security measures in other deprived areas around Scotland such as Airdrie Iceland putting tags on protein bars, Livingston Co-Op having chips in similar boxes, and Tesco in Kilbirnie reportedly going as far as to put security tags on their shopping baskets.
Tough to chew: The prices of simple products are cutting off those most in need.
It seems a sad indictment of our nation’s current predicament that items that should be common household items such as cuts of meat, dairy products, and even necessities in some households such as baby formula or female hygiene products are kept under lock to avoid theft from these desperate areas.
However, it seems that the main offenders may not be poverty-stricken people down on their luck, but those looking to take advantage of the current climate to make a financial gain. Members of staff from the store featured in the video spoke to the BBC, under a promise of anonymity and revealed that “shoplifting expensive cuts of meat was common” in the store.
They went on to reveal that one singular shoplifter had successfully stolen at least £600 worth of washing pods.
It is thought that these shoplifters will look to sell on these goods cost-free at a markup, lower than the supermarket price. For example, the £6.50 steak may go on the side for a fiver, and whilst the eventual consumer will make a slight saving, it paints the current cost of living crisis in a damning light that these measures are needed in order for simple items such as food to be affordable.