There were 274,999 incidents of shop theft in the year ending March 2022, a 21% increase from a year earlier, according to new ONS data for police recorded crime, sourced to the Home Office.
The figures only account for the number of incidents that ended up being recorded by the police, so is likely to be just a fraction of the number of crimes committed, the ACS says.
Chief Executive, James Lowman, said: “The overall increase in shop theft is likely to be partially due to many retailers being closed or partially closed during the period of Covid restrictions. Additionally, many convenience retailers were operating on reduced numbers of customers in store for safety reasons, which can make it more difficult for thieves to steal from stores. Shop theft continues to be a massive issue for convenience retailers and is mostly driven by organised groups stealing to sell on elsewhere and those who are suffering from a drug or alcohol addiction. Retailers have told us that they do not see any evidence of the cost-of-living crisis driving ordinary people to steal from stores, it is still the same groups looking to cash in at the expense of hard-working business owners.
“We strongly urge all Police and Crime Commissioners to prioritise dealing with shop theft in their plans for local forces, as if there is not intervention there is a strong likelihood that these so-called ‘low level’ crimes will escalate to abuse, violence, robberies and burglaries as the criminals become more confident that they won’t be caught.”
Earlier this month, supermarket chain Iceland’s Managing Director Richard Walker said shoplifting in his stores is on the rise due to “people struggling” amid the cost-of-living crisis. He told Good Morning Britain: “We’re not the police and we do have security guards in some stores, but they will give a written warning or ban the customer from the story if they get aggressive… I get the serious incident reports every week of aggressive behaviour that goes on in our stores and unfortunately it is going up because people are struggling.”
Paddy Lillis, Usdaw General Secretary, agrees that the increase in shoplifting may well be a consequence of Covid restrictions being lifted in stores last year and calls for action to ensure this reversal of a downward trend does not continue.
He said: “We are aware that the cost-of-living crisis may also lead to more shoplifting. However, the answer to the squeeze on household budgets is not to turn a blind eye to theft from shops, which in itself contributes to rising prices as retailers try to recover losses. The Government must take immediate steps to help people who are struggling to make ends meet, with a new deal for workers on pay and employment rights, a reduction in VAT and an uprating of in-work benefits in line with inflation.”
He added: “Shoplifting is not a victimless crime, theft from shops has long been a major flashpoint for violence and abuse against shopworkers. Having to deal with repeated and persistent shoplifters can cause issues beyond the theft itself like anxiety, fear and in some cases physical harm to retail workers.”
