The number of shoplifting offences recorded by police in England and Wales has reached its highest level on record, with over half a million incidents reported in 2024. Official figures from the Office for National Statistics show a total of 516,971 shoplifting offences last year, a 20% increase from 429,873 in 2023. This is the highest level since current police recording practices began in 2003.
Retailers, however, warn that the official figures severely underestimate the true scale of the problem. The British Retail Consortium (BRC) estimates there are over 20 million incidents of shoplifting each year, many of which go unreported due to a lack of confidence in police action. Tom Ironside, director of business and regulation at the BRC, said the recorded figures are equivalent to less than two incidents per shop per year, whereas many shopkeepers experience daily thefts.
The rise in shoplifting has been attributed to squeezed household finances amid high inflation, as well as organised gangs stealing to order. The BRC calculates that shop theft costs retailers more than £2.2 billion annually, forcing them to spend £1.8 million on anti-crime measures. Retail workers also face violence and abuse, with a survey by the trade union Usdaw finding that two-thirds of 9,500 respondents experienced incidents triggered by theft or armed robbery.
Fraud also saw a significant increase, rising by a third to 4.1 million incidents in 2024, including 2.4 million cases of bank and credit account fraud. Consumer group Which? called on the government to implement the Online Safety Act fully to tackle online scam adverts. Rocio Concha, director of policy and advocacy at Which?, urged the government to announce tough regulation of online advertising to address bogus celebrity-backed investment schemes and other scams.
