Data: Shoplifting soars to highest levels since police records began

Shoplifting in England and Wales is now at its highest level since police records began, according to new figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

Shoplifting offences surged 20% to 516,971 cases in the year ending December 2024, up from 429,873 the year before. This is the highest since current police recording practices began in March 2003.

However, British Retail Consortium director of business and regulation Tom Ironside said the ONS figures “severely underestimate the problem”, with many incidents going unreported “as retailers simply don’t have faith that action will be taken by the police”.

“[The ONS] figures are equivalent to less than two incidents per shop per year; if you ask most shopkeepers they’ll tell you they’re lucky if a day goes by without a shoplifting incident,” he said.

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Ironside added: “Retail crime is continuing to spiral out of control with shop theft costing retailers over £2.2bn a year.

“And while retailers are spending £1.8bn on anti-crime measures, thieves are becoming bolder, and more aggressive, resulting in an increase in violence and abuse against staff. It is vital we see more police resource allocated to tackle this epidemic of crime.

Co-op reported at the start of the month that around £80m worth of groceries were stolen from its stores last year, up 14% since 2023, despite it spending more than £200m on prevention.

The convenience store chain is not the only retailer that has taken tackling the rise of retail crime into its own hands.

Currys is rolling out its largest-ever annual investment in store safety measures as it ramps up efforts to protect colleagues and deter shoplifters.

The electricals giant is upgrading public display monitors in high-risk stores, enhancing product security, intelligence collection, and increasing spending on security personnel and surveillance.

Asda’s live facial recognition technology trial at five of its Greater Manchester stores to crack down on retail crime has come under fire by customers and campaign groups.

The Grocer reported this week the supermarket chain has received more than 5,000 complaints regarding the technology, supplied by FaiceTech, at its Ashton, Chadderton, Eastlands, Harpurhey and Trafford Park stores.

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