The retail association in Hirtshals has hired an outside expert and called all local shops to a meeting, after what its trade chief describes as a steep rise in shoplifting.
The initiative was reported on September 17 by DR. Per Martensen, trade chief for the North Jutland business association, has summoned the members of Hirtshals Handel og Erhverv to a joint meeting about thefts in their stores.
According to Martensen, the number of shoplifting incidents is climbing steeply, causing financial losses and a sense of insecurity among the affected businesses. He has hired an expert to advise members on preventing thefts and on handling shoplifters inside the stores.
Martensen told DR that he receives many calls from frustrated members describing more frequent and more aggressive thefts. He said he hopes the expert can guide the shops and slow the development, while acknowledging that the problem is unlikely to disappear.
What shop owners in the town describe
Lene Jensen, who runs the clothing store Havkyst, said dresses and tops are among the items taken. She has found price tags torn off and hidden behind the mirrors in the fitting rooms, where customers keep the clothes on and leave without paying.
René Ejstrup, who runs the local Spar grocery store, estimated to DR that around one percent of his revenue disappears through theft. He described himself as angry and irritated, noting the money could have gone toward improvements in the shop.
Ejstrup has installed video surveillance and put up signs stating that all thefts are reported to the police. Expensive goods such as beef tenderloin are kept in the stockroom, yet items including costly deodorants, vodka and instant coffee still vanish.
National figures behind the meeting
Figures from Statistics Denmark, cited by DR, show that reported shoplifting rose 62 percent from 2019 to 2025. In 2025 there were 27,422 reports registered nationally.
Criminologist Rasmus Munksgaard of Aalborg University told DR the trend may be less dramatic than the numbers suggest. He pointed out that shops may have become better at detecting thefts, and better at reporting them to the police.
The association has not published a date for further measures beyond the planned meeting with the expert. Martensen said the aim is to put a brake on the development in Hirtshals.
Hirtshals is a port town in Hjørring Municipality in North Jutland. The shops involved in the meeting are members of Hirtshals Handel og Erhverv, the local branch of the North Jutland business association.
