Shoplifting offences in England and Wales hit a 20-year high

Home Secretary Yvette Cooper promises to put more police on streets, emphasising the need for people "to feel safe on the streets", as ITV News reporter Sam Holder reports

The number of police-recorded shoplifting offences have hit a 20-year high across England and Wales.

Police forces logged a total of 443,995 instances in the year up to March 2024. That is up 30% on the year previous, from 342,428.

The figure is at its highest level since current records began in March 2003, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS), which described the latest increases as "notable".

Retailers have been increasingly concerned about the rising cost of theft. Figures earlier this year showed shoplifting was already at a 20-year high, the latest figures show that it has risen further.

Shoplifters wielding machetes target a Co-op store in Yorkshire last year

In the wake of growing crime statistics, the new Labour government has vowed to tackle low-level shoplifting and make assaulting a shop worker a specific criminal offence.

The move follows a long-running bid from business owners and Tory backbencher Matt Vickers amid rising violence against retail workers.

Retailers hope the measures set out last week in the King’s Speech to Parliament will make it easier for police to investigate and prosecute criminals.

The figures also show the number of offences involving theft from the person stood at 131,453 in 2023/24, up 17% from 112,225 in 2022/23.

The number of robberies recorded rose by 8% to 81,019, up from 75,012 in the previous 12 months – though this remains below pre-pandemic levels, with 90,198 offences in the year to March 2020.

There was a “notable increase” in the number of robberies involving a knife or sharp instrument, with 21,226 recorded by forces in 2023/24, up 13% from 18,787 in the previous 12 months, though this is below the 22,727 in 2019/20.

Offences involving possession of an article with a blade or point fell slightly to 27,470, down 3% from 28,391 in the previous 12 months.

This follows “substantial increases in recent years, which may have been influenced by targeted police action to tackle knife crime”, the ONS said.

Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said the figures represent "the appalling legacy of the Conservative government on law and order".

She added: "We have soaring shoplifting and soaring street crime happening at a time when we have plummeting neighbourhood police."

Promising to put more police on the streets, Ms Cooper emphasised the need for people "to feel safe on the streets."

Meghan Elkin, from the ONS, said: “There has been no change across many crime types in the last year. However, we have seen falls in fraud while there have been increases in computer misuse and some forms of theft, such as shoplifting and theft from the person. Notably, shoplifting has continued to see increases and remains at its highest level in 20 years.

“In addition, robbery, offences involving knives or sharp instruments and offences involving firearms have also increased over the last year while remaining below pre-coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic levels.”

Subscribe free to our weekly newsletter for exclusive and original coverage from ITV News. Direct to your inbox every Friday morning.

Want a quick and expert briefing on the biggest news stories? Listen to our latest podcasts to find out What You Need To Know...