A pharmacy manager has come up with a novel way of tackling shoplifters - by putting up a "wall of shame" featuring a gallery of suspected crooks.
Whasuf Farooq, 25, began erecting the images of wanted thieves in his window following a surge in crime at his shop in the Saltley area of Birmingham.
The CCTV grabs of suspects are accompanied by comical descriptions which have gone viral online including 'The Lynx Thief' and 'Nivea Man'.
And he claims his unique method has been so effective that some crooks have been returning to the scene of the crime to cough up what they owe.
Mr Farooq has publicly shamed over 16 people since he introduced the move a year ago after accusing police of failing to act.
He says would-be thieves are now thinking twice about stealing from Pak Pharmacy to avoid being featured in their rogues' gallery.
Mr Farooq said: "Shoplifting has been a big problem here but the police don't do anything to help us.
"Some of them were even using children to help. Some parents I've seen have literally handed their kids the items to put into the pram
“It's quite common here, it happens in other shops. They don’t just hit one, they go through a string of shops here. They used to do one after the other.
“We've had 15 or 16 people on the wall in the past year. If they come and pay we take it down - it's as simple as that, it's no problem.
"My deal is if you come back, pay us what you owe and apologise, then I'll remove your picture.
"We started with pictures in the back so staff know who they are. But we’ve put it out the front so people see it when they walk in.
“It's decreased a lot, everyone thinks twice now. It's like a deterrent, people walk to the door and turn around. People don’t want to be featured.
“Naming and shaming works, people see them and tell us where they live or who they are. I do plan to keep it going."
The pictures, which show the alleged thieves carrying out their crimes, also include funny captions mocking them over what items they take.
Whasuf said thieves tend to target anything they can sell on but mainly items such as shampoo’s and deodorants.
One man was branded the "Nivea Man" after he stole some Nivea cream with staff telling him to "moisturise his crusty hands".
The caption read: “The Nivea Man. Hope you use the cream to moisturise them crusty hands. They keep on coming.”
In another, a mum was labelled a ‘"big dummy" after allegedly attempting to steal a dummy before blaming it on her child.
It read: “Don’t steal dummies. This big dummy thought she wouldn’t get seen then tried to blame the child. Looks like she needs it more than the child.”
Another caption read: "Mr Rad the man stole all the Lynx, hope he buys himself new trainers #whatarethose."
Mr Farooq added: “Other shops are doing it now but no one is doing the funny captions which people seem to like.
"Since we started the wall of shame it has gone viral on Instagram and Tiktok. It has really worked for us.
"One bloke came back to me telling me his parents had seen his face on the wall and he paid us back everything he owed in order to get his face taken down.
"Other times people's families have come to pay on their behalf."
Whasuf Farooq, 25, began erecting the images of wanted thieves in his window following a surge in crime at his shop in the Saltley area of Birmingham.
The CCTV grabs of suspects are accompanied by comical descriptions which have gone viral online including 'The Lynx Thief' and 'Nivea Man'.
And he claims his unique method has been so effective that some crooks have been returning to the scene of the crime to cough up what they owe.
Mr Farooq has publicly shamed over 16 people since he introduced the move a year ago after accusing police of failing to act.
He says would-be thieves are now thinking twice about stealing from Pak Pharmacy to avoid being featured in their rogues' gallery.
Mr Farooq said: "Shoplifting has been a big problem here but the police don't do anything to help us.
"Some of them were even using children to help. Some parents I've seen have literally handed their kids the items to put into the pram
“It's quite common here, it happens in other shops. They don’t just hit one, they go through a string of shops here. They used to do one after the other.
“We've had 15 or 16 people on the wall in the past year. If they come and pay we take it down - it's as simple as that, it's no problem.
"My deal is if you come back, pay us what you owe and apologise, then I'll remove your picture.
"We started with pictures in the back so staff know who they are. But we’ve put it out the front so people see it when they walk in.
“It's decreased a lot, everyone thinks twice now. It's like a deterrent, people walk to the door and turn around. People don’t want to be featured.
“Naming and shaming works, people see them and tell us where they live or who they are. I do plan to keep it going."
The pictures, which show the alleged thieves carrying out their crimes, also include funny captions mocking them over what items they take.
Whasuf said thieves tend to target anything they can sell on but mainly items such as shampoo’s and deodorants.
One man was branded the "Nivea Man" after he stole some Nivea cream with staff telling him to "moisturise his crusty hands".
The caption read: “The Nivea Man. Hope you use the cream to moisturise them crusty hands. They keep on coming.”
In another, a mum was labelled a ‘"big dummy" after allegedly attempting to steal a dummy before blaming it on her child.
It read: “Don’t steal dummies. This big dummy thought she wouldn’t get seen then tried to blame the child. Looks like she needs it more than the child.”
Another caption read: "Mr Rad the man stole all the Lynx, hope he buys himself new trainers #whatarethose."
Mr Farooq added: “Other shops are doing it now but no one is doing the funny captions which people seem to like.
"Since we started the wall of shame it has gone viral on Instagram and Tiktok. It has really worked for us.
"One bloke came back to me telling me his parents had seen his face on the wall and he paid us back everything he owed in order to get his face taken down.
"Other times people's families have come to pay on their behalf."
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