Organised crime groups are using small-scale shoplifting to fund their activities, a study has found.

Perpetuity Research and the Police Foundation, which jointly studied organised crime in Coventry, Wolverhampton and Bristol, found that up to 16% of all shoplifting offences are linked to gangs.

They said organised shoplifting can be identified by the “sophisticated levels of coordination and planning” used. The research also warned that the figure could be higher as there is often not enough evidence collected to determine a connection, or the crimes are not detected.

“The findings are striking. They suggest that organised crime is more prolific than many had estimated and the harms more serious than we thought. Yet the policing response often falls between stalls,” said professor Martin Gill from Perpetuity Research.

“In our preoccupation with terrorism and cyber crime, important as they are, we must not lose focus on a range of other offence types.”

Meanwhile, shop owners in Devon and Cornwall will now be given a say in the punishment for those committing low level crime in their stores.