Proactive Investors - Shoplifting in England and Wales jumped 30% in the year to March 2024, putting it at its highest level in around two decades, official data revealed.
Some 444,000 shoplifting offences took place during the twelve-month period, compared to 2023’s 342,500, research from the Office for National Statistics showed.
It marks a persistent rise since the end of the COVID-19 lockdown and backs up the calls made by retail bosses who argued that shoplifting had become an epidemic.
Retailers argue the situation is much worse than the statistics look, with many smaller cases not being reported to the police because owners don’t believe offenders will be prosecuted or caught.
Tesco (LON:TSCO), Co-op, John Lewis and other leading companies in the sector have called on the government for support, with the British Retail Consortium claiming shoplifting costs the industry £1 billion a year.
In May, it was revealed retailers spent a combined £339 million in efforts to reduce the issue, introducing measures like CCTV, intruder alarms and internal communication systems.
Meanwhile, some of the larger companies dished out hundreds of thousands to support a police action plan aimed at tackling those at the top orchestrating the criminal activity.
Labour plans to introduce measures to tackle anti-social behaviour by giving police new power.
As part of a new Crime and Policing Bill, it will be a specific crime to assault shopworkers, although changes to prevent shoplifting are yet to be outlined.