Shop owners in five regions in England and Wales reported a 50%-or-above rise in shoplifting last year, compared with the year before. Recently released Office for National Statistics (ONS) figures for the year ending September 2023 show Derbyshire, Durham, Gwent, North­umbria and Sussex faced the most-dramatic increases. Reports of shoplifting incidents in Sussex were up by 69%.

Of the 56 police forces, only one saw shoplifting fall. Cumbria was down by 1% year on year. Only two forces, Bedfordshire and Greater Manchester, kept the percentage rise to single digits. The average increase across the whole of the UK was 32%. This took shoplifting to the highest level since ONS records began in 2002.

The dubious title of the shoplifting capital of England and Wales went to Cleveland in the north-east. The area reported the most incidents per 1,000 inhabitants. Only three police forces – Cleveland, Durham and Notting­hamshire – reported more than one incident per 100 inhabitants.

Police response

In response to the rampant retail theft in the region, Nottingham­shire Police said it would be removing the alcohol licences of pubs and off-licences that purchased stolen goods or allowed them to be traded on their premises. Other councils appear to be taking similar measures.

On 22 January, Peter­borough Council revoked the licence of conveni­ence store UK Plus EU on 27 Broadway in Peterbor­ough after it was caught with stolen stock. Similar incidents have been reported in Bristol and Bournemouth since the beginning of the year.

Shoplifting to order

Supermarket bosses have warned of a rise in thieves “shoplifting to or­der”. This is when criminals take and fulfil requests for specific lines. Last week, one Fed member described a pat­tern of shoplifters target­ing specific items. “A mother was caught in my shop with her six-year-old daughter, ” the retailer said. “She had taught her daughter to steal for her by hiding things in a bag.

“It wasn’t things needed to survive. It was things like high-value personal-care products and laundry powder. The penalty given by the courts was parenting classes, which was clearly inadequate. I can’t explain how distressing it was to see a parent using their child like that.”

The Fed calls for support

Reacting to the figures, the Fed’s national presi­dent, Muntazir Dipoti, warned: “We are seeing regular customers turn­ing to shoplifting because they can’t afford to live. Tackling shop theft has to be given the energy and priority it deserves from the police, police and crime commission­ers, and from MPs. Independent retailers should be given finan­cial support so they can invest in better-quality CCTV to protect them, their staff and their businesses.”

Last year, the Fed launched its Safe, Secure, Supported campaign. It called for government grants of £1,500 to help independent retailers beef up their security systems.

Responding to the ONS statistics, a spokesperson for the prime minister stated: “We’d always want to do more to combat shoplifting. There is work that has been done, particularly with private companies, about how we can go further.”

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