Brazen thieves responsible for soaring levels of shoplifting in Canterbury have little fear of being caught and charged, says a security firm boss.

Tony Smith, of Right Guard Security, spoke out as alarming statistics obtained by KentOnline from police reveal a four-fold increase in offences in the city centre in the past three years.

And of those caught, less than a fifth resulted in anyone being taken to court.

Mr Smith said: “The fact is, the way goods are now displayed in towns and city centre stores has made them far more vulnerable.

“Thieves also know they will probably get away with it as there is a little police presence on the streets and fewer shop security staff because retailers are trying to save costs.”

Mr Smith’s firm supplies security officers to stores in the city centre, and only last month one injured his knee chasing thieves out of Fenwick, who then sped off in a waiting car.

“We are seeing a lot more organised gangs and the threat of someone carrying a weapon is a worry, which is why store staff are not encouraged to confront anyone in case they get hurt,” said Mr Smith.

“Why, for example, would a young woman on minimum wage risk it when she has nothing to gain and could get injured in the process?”

Mr Smith says the value of the goods stolen often does not make it worth taking the case through the cost of a prosecution.

“We recently detained a shoplifter in one store and called police who said they could not attend for at least four hours,” he continued.

“Clearly our staff can’t be held up that long and we had to let him go.”

The impact of the huge increase in offences has been particularly felt in the Whitefriars shopping precinct, which has about 60 shops.

Manager Peter Scutt says every day, its security team surveys all retailers and records crime statistics.

They show an increase in thefts from 1,487 in 2017 to 2,018 last year, with the number of suspects caught rising from 200 to 434.

But many items found to be missing and presumed stolen in the centre are not reported to police, which explains the disparity with the official police figures.

The force says recorded offences city-wide have risen from 304 in 2015 to 1,207 in 2017, with 2018 expected to record a similar total.

But police chiefs insist the figures do not show "a disproportionate problem year-on-year".

Boss of the Canterbury Business Improvement District, Lisa Carlson, says the group is keen to help shopkeepers report all crimes to the police.

She said: “Canterbury has strong partnerships across the city including groups and schemes such as Purple Flag co-ordinated by the Business Improvement District, street marshalls co-ordinated by the universities, the Community Safety Unit at Canterbury City Council and District Watch.”