Shoplifting rises to high of 1,300 cases a day as detection rate falls

SHOPLIFTING offences have risen by more than 30 per cent in a year to a record 1,300 a day but only one in seven are being solved, official figures show.

The number reported to police jumped from 304,459 in the year to September 2022 to 402,482 in the year to September 2023 – a rise of 32.2 per cent.

It is the first time on record it has passed 400,000 in a year. Between June and September 2023, thefts from retailers continued to rise to 1,295 a day – up from 882 a day in the same period last year.

It is the highest rate since records began in 2003, according to the Office for National Statistics.

Yet the proportion of the crimes resulting in a shoplifter being charged has fallen to a record low of 14.2 per cent, down from 28.3 per cent in 2016 when the Home Office started publishing such data.

Retailers say shoplifting is now so widespread that it adds 6p to every store transaction because of the cost of the £1billion stolen each year and the extra £700million being spent on security measures by shops.

The annual crime figures also showed theft had risen by 2 per cent to 2,681,000, with personal theft at its highest level since 2007.

Theft of and from vehicles was also up by 2 per cent to 397,264 offences in the year to September 2023. Robbery – where offenders use violence to steal – shot up by 12 per cent to 79,091, although burglary was down by 1 per cent to 273,076.

It follows a pledge by the 43 police chiefs in England and Wales to attend all residential burglary crime scenes.

Knife crime jumped by 5 per cent to 48,716 offences in the year to September 2023 but remained 5 per cent lower than March 2020, before the start of the Covid pandemic and lockdowns.

The shoplifting surge has been blamed on the cost of living crisis.

However in recent years, police forces have also stopped attending reports of routine shop theft and will only send an officer to investigate if there has been a threat of violence against a member of staff.

Even if shoplifters are caught, a change in the law in 2014 means those charged with the theft of goods below £200 no longer have to attend court and often escape with a small fine or out-of-court disposal.

As a result many shopkeepers claim they have been left at the mercy of persistent thieves who act with impunity without fear of arrest.