Need to know
The worst areas for shoplifting in England and Wales have been revealed in new Home Office figures as retailers slammed an ‘epidemic’ of thefts costing £4.2 billion
Everything you need to know
- Shoplifting has soared since the end of the pandemic, particularly in the wake of the cost-of-living crisis. There were a record 530,000 crimes of shoplifting recorded by police in England and Wales in the year ending March 2025, a 19% rise from the previous year.
- Shop theft was first described as an “epidemic” in 2023 by Dame Sharon White, the chair of John Lewis Partnership. Since then, crime has spiralled, rising by 55% from 342,000 annual offences.
- According to the British Retail Consortium, retailers incurred an “eye-watering” £4.2 billion bill due to crime in 2024. That includes £2.2 billion lost to shoplifting and £1.8 billion spent on crime prevention measures.
- Data has now revealed the high streets and city centres that suffer the highest levels of shoplifting. They are: Leeds City Centre, North Laine & the Lanes in Brighton, Fitzrovia West & Soho in Westminster, Birmingham Central, and City of London financial district.
- It comes as the Crime and Policing Bill is expected to become law later this year. It will remove the £200 “low-value” threshold, which means theft of goods below that value is currently a summary-only offence, dealt with by magistrates, leading to a perception that many shoplifters are getting off lightly. The Bill will also create a new standalone offence of assaulting a retail worker.
READ THE FULL REPORT: Britain’s WORST areas for shoplifting revealed – check your area in interactive map
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