A supermarket boss has come up with a novel way of tackling shoplifters - by shaming the suspected crooks on TikTok. <br /><br />Danny Khan, 34, began posting CCTV of wanted thieves on social media following a surge in crime at his shop in Winson Green, Birmingham.<br /><br />And he claims his unique method has been so effective that some crooks have been returning to the scene of the crime to apologise and cough up what they owe.<br /><br />Danny has publicly shamed around 20 people since he introduced the idea a year ago after accusing police of failing to act.<br /><br />The videos, which are also uploaded to Instagram, feature suspects being caught red-handed and have been viewed millions of times online. <br /><br />Danny, who runs Mr Khan’s Authentic Jamaican Food Store with his dad, said outing the shoplifters on social media had certainly proved an 'effective deterrent’.<br /><br />He said: "We just became so fed-up of the amount of shoplifting going on and police failing to act that we thought we'd turn to social media. <br /><br />"We thought 'enough’s enough'. If we catch you stealing we'll put you on TikTok and Instagram and we have a big following so it’s doing the job. <br /><br />"The result has been a drop in incidents because people know if they rob from here they are going straight on social media. <br /><br />"Less and less stock is going missing. A couple of videos have had over a million views. It's gone crazy to be honest.<br /><br />"Now our customers have a laugh with us about it when they come in saying 'Look, watch I’m paying for this because I don’t want to end up on social media'.<br /><br />"We've had four or five come back and say 'we're really sorry, please will you take the video down' and pay for what they owe.<br /><br />"My deal is if you come back, pay us and apologise, then I'll take the video down, it's simple.<br /><br />"Once people get named and shamed they don’t do it again."<br /><br />Danny - who has installed more than 40 CCTV cameras in his shop - said he will carry on posting videos until police take action.<br /><br />There has been a 100 per cent increase in the theft of food in the West Midlands during the cost-of-living crisis - with 3,138 products recorded stolen by West Midlands Police last year.<br /><br />Danny added: "It just sky-rocketed after Covid. We knew we had to do something because the police are just not interested.<br /><br />"Every time we reported it no-one ever comes. They just say its petty crime, but when its happening on a massive scale I wouldn't call that petty.<br /><br />"We have been part of the community here for 35 years and most of our customers are brilliant- but there's a few bad eggs out there. <br /><br />"We get everyone from druggies to really well-dressed people stealing. We even had an old lady the other day.<br /><br />"We know times are difficult and we donate produce to charity and to foodbanks - we want to help people where we can. <br /><br />"Our customers are like family so if people are going through hard times they can tell us and we often help them out.<br /><br />"But we work hard to keep this business going and people can't get away with stealing from us.<br /><br />"We are now talking to other businesses to have a page for the whole area where other shopkeepers can do the same. <br /><br />"Because if they don't steal from here, they will just go to the next shop. With police doing nothing to help we're taking matters into our own hands."<br /><br />A West Midlands Police spokesperson said: "We fully understand the impact and frustration of shoplifting on businesses of all sizes. <br /><br />"It's a crime which can affect livelihoods.<br /><br />"We're committed to reducing shop thefts and carry out regular high visibility patrols in retail areas, along with activity to identify and catch offenders."
