A 62-year-old convenience store team leader has described being taunted by a shoplifter who filled a basket with stolen goods and told her: "You can't touch me. If you touch me, I'll have you in court. I can hit you, but you can't touch me."
The worker, named only as Jo, said she had to stand in silence and watch the man walk out into the street unchallenged. She said staff at her store in Northumberland have been repeatedly verbally abused and attacked by shoplifters who think they are untouchable.
Career criminals driving the crisis
Jo said the majority of offenders are not people stealing because of the cost-of-living crisis. "They are career criminals feeding drug habits, and you don't know what you're dealing with," she said. "These people who are coming in and filling baskets in front of you, they know what they're doing. They know that you can't touch them."
Police forces in England and Wales recorded 502,011 shoplifting offences in 2025-26, a 5% drop on the year before but still well above pre-pandemic levels. According to figures from the Centre For Social Justice, the crisis is being driven by a small number of reoffenders.
Earlier this year, the think tank warned that 67% of convicted shoplifters go on to commit another offence within 12 months, up from 55% before the pandemic. In total, convicted shoplifters were responsible for more than 131,000 repeat offences in the latest 2023-24 figures, a 66% surge.
Frontline staff facing daily abuse
Jo said repeat offenders are often known to staff. "Quite often a message will flash up on our group chat saying: 'Such-and-such is out,'" she said. She added that even when offenders are locked up, they often reoffend quickly upon release.
"I appreciate we've got new legislation, but the problem is the time between them reoffending and being back in court. Nine times out of ten, they don't get a custodial sentence anyway," she said. "I know we've got problems with the prisons and there's no quick fix, but we are the people on the frontline dealing with this, and it's day in, day out."
Thieves routinely strike multiple times during a single shift before selling the stolen goods on the streets. Jo said two stores in her area were hit three times on the same evening, and in worst-case scenarios staff have to lock the doors to decompress. She also described seeing a man outside a bingo hall in Manchester selling stolen meat still wrapped in her company's labels.
Calls for faster rollout of new law
Recent legislation created a standalone criminal offence for assaulting a retail worker in England and Wales, making it easier to ban offenders using criminal behaviour orders. However, the new law is not yet in force, prompting calls for ministers to fast-track its rollout.
Jo warned that a lack of visible policing and long court delays are leaving workers feeling vulnerable. Colleagues have been assaulted outside stores after closing, while others have quit in fear. "I'm 62 now, and there are times I think: I've had enough," she said. "My plea to the government is simple: Please don't let it get any worse. It's bad enough now - don't let it get any worse."
