Shoplifting offences surge to an all-time high with 1,300 every day last year

Shoplifting has soared to different grounds high, with astir 1,300 offences being recorded each time past year.

There was a full of 469,788 offences logged by constabulary forces successful England and Wales successful the twelvemonth to June 2024. That is simply a 29% leap from the 365,173 recorded successful the 12 months previous.

The fig is the highest since existent records began successful the twelvemonth to March 2003, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS). Shoplifting levels had already reached a 20-year precocious earlier this year, with the latest figures showing them rising adjacent higher.

Responding to today’s stats, retailers said the ‘epidemic’ outgo the manufacture £1.8 cardinal past year, with thieves ‘becoming bolder, much assertive and much often equipped with weapons’.

The information comes successful the aftermath of large retailers raising concerns astir the accrued outgo of theft and arsenic the Government vowed to tackle low-level shoplifting and marque assaulting a store idiosyncratic a circumstantial transgression offence.

Last month, the Co-Operative Group revealed the outgo of transgression successful its stores surged by astir a 5th to £40 cardinal successful the archetypal fractional of the twelvemonth alone.

Despite spending £18 cardinal connected measures to assistance support unit successful its nutrient business, including rolling retired body-worn cameras and fortified kiosks, it took a deed of £39.5 cardinal from theft and fraud.

Matt Hood, managing manager of Co-op Food, said: ‘As these caller figures show, we are seeing acold excessively galore prolific offenders persistently bargain ample volumes of products, successful UK shops each day, and, if they are stealing to money addictions, the concern often becomes volatile and dangerous.

‘Crime is an concern for immoderate – it is not petty crime, and it is not victimless. 

‘At Co-op we person invested implicit £200 cardinal connected preventative measures successful our shops and judge the collaborative attack betwixt the retail industry, the police, and the Government, volition commencement to instigate a change, sending retired a wide connection to each those who perpetrate brazen and often convulsive acts of retail theft, that clip is present up connected their transgression ways.’

Graham Wynn, Assistant Director of Regulatory Affairs astatine the British Retail Consortium, said: ‘The figures published by the ONS bespeak the standard of the contented which retailers look connected a day-to-day basis.

‘Shoplifting remains astatine its highest level successful 20 years and outgo retailers £1.8 cardinal past year. The thieves committing these crimes are becoming bolder, much aggressive, and are much often equipped with weapons.

‘The authorities indispensable guarantee that the standalone offence for assaulting a retail idiosyncratic passes into instrumentality arsenic soon arsenic imaginable to support each retail workers and to nonstop a wide connection that this behaviour volition not beryllium tolerated. This volition besides springiness constabulary the information they request to allocate resources to tackle this epidemic we are presently facing.’

Policing curate Dame Diana Johnson said: ‘Too galore municipality centres person been decimated by grounds levels of shoplifting, and communities person been near shaken by rising levels of weapon crime, snatch theft and robbery. This cannot continue.

‘This Government volition reconstruct neighbourhood policing crossed the country, enactment thousands much dedicated officers retired connected our streets and scrap the £200 shoplifting threshold, bringing an extremity to the effectual impunity for thieves who bargain debased worth goods.’

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