Reporters from news agency Children's Express argue that treating schoolkids like potential shoplifters, rather than honest paying customers, is counter-productive for shop owners.
| They run out of the shop with the tags still in place or they take them off in the changing rooms. |
"Only two schoolchildren at a time..." It is a familiar sign in the shops near Islington schools, where the prospect of a lunch-time invasion by the stereotypical mobs of thieving trouble-makers in uniform strikes fear into the hearts of shopkeepers. However, while youngsters themselves admit they aren't always little angels, they insist there is a right way to tackle the problem and that adults have got it wrong.
Do traders over-react? Not according to Lyndsey Carey, the manager of The Body Shop, in Upper Street, opposite Angel Tube. They usually steal small items of make-up worth between 10 to 15 a day, said Ms Carey, who has fought back by banning all pupils from Elizabeth Garrett Anderson school, in Penton Street, with the school's consent.
Designer clothes shop Zee and Co, just up the road, claims that up to 40% of youngsters who go into the shop try to steal, although only about 5pc succeed. But this still means that, with a typical item such as a pair of Calvin Klein jeans costing 80, the value of goods disappearing into the wardrobes of schoolchildren every week approaches four figures.
They run out of the shop with the tags still in place or they take them off in the changing rooms. They don't care," manageress Marie Wood said. "It bothers me because it can get a bit personal, but we're fairly well protected."
Lunch-times are particularly stressful for the shopkeepers of Islington as bored kids hang about while busy workers jostle for service during one of the day's busiest periods.
"I don't eat dinners so I always go out at lunch-time," said EGA pupil Selina Gibson, a 14-year-old whose feelings were echoed by many of her schoolmates. She does not consider the playground or optional school activities an attractive alternative to a lunch hour spent picking over the latest releases in Our Price.
The shopkeeper's ultimate deterrent is the sign limiting the number of schoolchildren at any one time. At Payaguyo, a women's fashion shop in Chapel Market, a large fluorescent orange board, bearing the message "only two school children at a time" daubed in black marker pen, dominates the window.
Other stores are quick to display temporary postcard signs during term-time if trouble arises. However successful such measures may be they provoke resentment in children who pay their way.
"The signs intimidate me," says Daniel Blackwood, 16, who goes to Holloway Boys. "I understand it's because shop owners can only watch two of us at a time, that if there's five of us they get scared," he said. "But I feel ashamed when I am watched."
To treat someone like Daniel as a potential criminal does seem a touch over the top, especially when you consider that most of his shopping is simply running errands for his nan.
FACED with a group of youngsters in identical school uniforms, shop staff can find it easy to brand them all trouble-makers, making law-abiding kids feel that they are getting a rough deal.
Indeed, many are embarrassed by the behaviour of their peers. "If someone sees you in a Holloway Boys uniform then they think you're bad. They start watching you and sometimes they say you're not allowed in their shop," Daniel said. Selina is similarly unimpressed: "It makes me not want to come to school in uniform anymore."
Such hostile measures can be counter-productive, souring relations between shopkeepers and their law-abiding teenage customers in the long term.
"Two or three girls in my class shoplift and because of those few, we all have to suffer said Senab Adekunle, 14, a long suffering pupil at EGA. "To get our own back, we use the security cameras like mirrors to arrange our hair. It's really irritating for people monitoring them. They hate it," she laughs.
Youngsters are convinced there are better ways to tackle the issue. They feel schools should offer more engaging lunch-time activities and educate pupils about the gravity of shoplifting and its consequences.
"Teachers should introduce the subject of stealing into lessons," suggested Senab. "They should treat it like drugs setting out the pros and cons. It would make pupils open their eyes and realise what will happen to them."
Most pupils agree that the key to good relations lies in being treated as individuals. "The attitude you have towards people reflects the way they treat you back," Senab remarked bluntly.
Selina observed that some of her friends were keen to promote better relations by trying not to raise suspicions. "When you go into shops you have to keep yourself to yourself and make it blatantly obvious you aren't stealing. You just pick up what you want to buy, pay for it and leave," she said.
The boutique Ivy of London, near Islington Green, shows how shops can take a more sensitive approach to younger customers. "We only allow two school children in the shop at once, just so we can keep control," explained assistant Hadley Black, "but we rely on telling youngsters the rules rather than displaying an unfriendly sign."
Mrs Patel, the owner of Market News - on the corner of Chapel Market and Penton Street and directly opposite EGA is adamant that getting to know regular customers is the best way to build trust and can only be good for business. Most of the local girls, she says, are not only honest, but pleasant too.
"We let four schoolchildren in at a time, but when we know the girls we let more in. They behave nicely." And best of all, they treat the newsagent "Like the school tuck shop".
About the team
Report by: Natasha Asare, 14; Nicholas Waterfield, 16; Julia Press, 17; Selina Gibson, 14; Cenk Ceki, 10; Marvyn Benoit, 11; Duane O'Garro, 11; Aminah Carter, 13; Milo Cullinan, 10; and Eugene Asare, 11. It was published in the Hampstead & Highgate Express.
