Vast majority of Swedes' shoplifting goes unreported: trade group

Swedes shoplift to the tune of 4.6 billion SEK (541 million U.S. dollars) every year but only 2 percent of the crimes are reported, a trade group said Tuesday.

While two million acts of shoplifting are committed in Sweden every year, only 50,000 of them are reported to the police, according to a survey by the Swedish Trade Federation.

"There is great frustration among shop owners since they are released immediately and only fined for their crimes," Per Geijer, head of security at the federation, told public broadcaster SVT.

The report, which examined police reports in ten Swedish regions, estimates that two out of 10 pilfering fines end up being paid.

"There is no point in fining shoplifters. They are often people without the means to pay so fines neither punish the crime nor let the criminals redeem themselves," Geijer said.

According to the survey, the police dropped 54 percent of their investigations into shoplifting in 2014, compared to 39 percent the year before.

The group wants lawmakers to let shop owners ban those who commit petty thefts, an idea that was recently dismissed by a committee appointed by the government.

"We believe it's time for politicians to consider punishments other than fines. One example might be to have shoplifters do community service," Geijer said. (1 U.S. dollars=8.51 SEK) Endit