Shoplifting offences rose to their highest level in two decades last year, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS).
In the year to September 2023, 402,482 shoplifting offences were recorded by police in England and Wales.
This is the first time since records began in 2002 that the rate of shoplifting offences has exceeded 400,000.
This was an increase of 32% from the previous year when 304,459 offences were recorded.
The previous peak of 382,643 shoplifting offences was recorded in March 2018.
Last year saw many major retailers, including John Lewis, Sainsbury’s and Tesco, agree to fund a new police operation to help combat crime in stores.
The Co-op saw crime in its stores reach “record levels” with physical assaults on frontline workers increasing 30% year on year.
The ONS said there was a “notable increase in some theft offences, including shoplifting”.
The rise in these offences sparked the National Police Chiefs Council to unveil a new Retail Crime Action Plan, which will treat shoplifting and retail crimes similarly to organised crime.
The British Retail Consortium has called on the next government to prioritise tackling retail crime.
In its manifesto, the BRC said it wants the government to “introduce a standalone offence of assaulting, threatening or abusing a retail worker in England and Wales”.
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