Britain is in the grip of a shoplifting epidemic with nearly three thefts a minute reported by stores, shocking new figures reveal.
Police recorded a record-breaking 530,643 shoplifting offences in the year to March – a 20 per cent rise from the 444,022 seen the previous year, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS).
That’s more than 10,000 thefts a week, or over 1,400 a day, almost three every minute during typical store opening hours.
The figures are the highest since national records began in 2003 and come as the retail industry warns of growing lawlessness on the high street. Shop theft rates are now nearly double what they were two decades ago.
Retailers say the wave of crime is hitting shoppers in the pocket. The British Retail Consortium (BRC) estimates shoplifting adds at least 6p to every single transaction. Annual losses top £1.8 billion, with stores forking out a further £700 million just to beef up security.
And it’s likely to be far worse. Police-recorded figures are believed to represent just five per cent of the actual thefts, with most incidents going unreported unless an offender is caught or captured on CCTV.
Crime explosion
The chaos isn’t limited to shelves and checkouts. The latest Crime Survey for England and Wales revealed snatch thefts – including phones and bags – have soared to 90,000 in the past year, the highest for two decades and up 29 per cent from 70,000 the year before.
The spike has sparked fears frontline officers are being pulled away from tackling everyday crime. Forces have warned they may be stretched further this summer by protests over migration and other pressures.
In response, top retailers including M&S, Tesco, Primark, Morrisons, Boots and Greggs are launching a major crackdown. Under a new scheme, they’ll share CCTV, photos and personal data of repeat offenders with each other and with police.
The idea is to “join the dots” and build a clearer picture of serial shoplifters. The database will support prosecutions and give security teams door-side photo watchlists to block entry.
Home Secretary Yvette Cooper hailed new action from police, claiming: “That is why this summer our new Neighbourhood Policing Guarantee means over 500 town centres are getting extra neighbourhood patrols and action on town centre crime, and we are delivering the first 3,000 increase in neighbourhood officers and PCSOs in communities by next spring.”
Critics blast Labour’s approach
But critics aren’t convinced. Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp hit back:
“Following yesterday’s damning drop in police numbers, today the consequences of Labour’s negligence are on full show.
“Under Labour, crime is up seven per cent, shoplifting has surged by 20 per cent, and under Labour’s London Mayor, over 60 per cent of all personal thefts now happen in the capital.”
Andrew Griffith MP delivered a blistering attack, comparing Labour’s approach to the failed policies of California – where petty thefts under $950 were effectively decriminalised.
Claire Bullivant, Editor of this publication confirmed:
“I lived in California for 14 years… I watched this far-left fantasy unfold in real time.
“My friend ran 14 restaurants across the Bay Area. Within months of California decriminalising shoplifting, those restaurants were shuttered. People would come in, eat, and simply walk out. No payment. No shame. No punishment.”
As Conservative MP Andrew Griffith starkly laid out in an X thread, “98% of shoplifting prison sentences are under 12 months, the very sentences Labour wants to abolish. They’re not just cutting slack. They’re cutting the brake lines.
“This isn’t about compassion. This is about cowardice.”
He added:
“Let’s talk about Tanya Liddle. Convicted over 170 times, over 400 offences. Under Labour’s plan, she’d face no prison at all. How can anyone look at that and still mutter the phrase ‘restorative justice’ without choking?”
Victims of violence and harassment
ONS figures also laid bare the scale of personal crime. Around one in eight women were victims of sexual assault, domestic abuse or stalking in the last year. The number for men was also high – at one in 12.
An estimated 5.2 million adults (10.6%) aged 16 and over in England and Wales suffered one or more of these serious crimes in the year to March.
Domestic abuse affected 3.8 million people, stalking hit 1.4 million, and sexual assault impacted 900,000, the survey found.
Fraud is also spiralling… now accounting for 4.2 million incidents annually, the highest since it was first tracked in 2016. Total reported crime to police actually dipped slightly to 6.6 million offences, but that remains far above pre-pandemic levels.
“Britain must not become California”
Mr Griffith concluded with a stark warning:
“Shoplifting is NOT a victimless crime. It bleeds our high streets, drives up prices for working families, and brings daily threats to frontline retail workers.
“When the law steps back, the mob steps forward.”
With high street crime spiralling and political pressure mounting, the Government and police now face growing calls to prove they can keep Britain’s shops – and shoppers – safe.
