The number of shoplifting offences recorded by police in England and Wales has reached a new 20-year peak.
In the year leading up to March 2024, a total of 443,995 offences were reported by police forces, marking a 30% increase from the 342,428 incidents logged in the previous year.
According to the Office for National Statistics (ONS), this figure is the highest since records started in March 2003.
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Shoplifting incidents had already hit a 20-year high earlier this year, and the most recent data shows an even greater rise in recorded offences.
The data released this week comes amid growing concerns from leading retailers about the increasing cost of theft, and as the Labour government pledges to address low-level shoplifting and make assaulting a shop worker a specific criminal offence.
This move follows a long running campaign by business owners amid increasing violence against shop staff. Retailers hope the measures outlined in the King’s Speech will simplify police investigations and prosecutions.
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