West Mercia shoplifting offences up 26 per cent as national figures hit new 20-year high

New figures from the Office for National Statistics show that the number of shoplifting offences recorded by police in England and Wales has risen to a new 20-year high.

The data published on Wednesday comes as a number of major retailers raise concerns about the rising cost of theft and as the new Labour Government vowed to tackle 'low value' shoplifting.

The British Retail Consortium estimated that shoplifting cost retailers about £1.8 billion in the latest year - the highest recorded amount and the first time it has surpassed the £1 billion mark.

During the King's Speech last week, the new government brought forward amendments to the Crime and Policing Bill, which included legislation designed to “tackle retail crime” by creating a new specific offence of assaulting a shopworker and introducing “stronger measures to tackle low-level shoplifting”.

Some 443,995 offences were logged by forces in the year to March 2024, up 30 per cent from 342,428 offences in the previous 12 months - the highest total since recording practices began in 2003.

In the West Mercia policing area, 9,775 shoplifting offences were recorded in the same period, which translates to a 26 per cent increase from the previous year.

Detective Chief Inspector Jo Whitehead of Telford said: “As a force we have been committed to the National Retail Action Plan since it launched in October 2023.

“We recognise the concern around the increase of shoplifting figures of those from last year and although this follows the national picture, we are dedicated to reducing this across our communities.

“There has been significant progress made over the last six months, which has largely been a result of improved relationships between our officers and retailers.

“We have dedicated retail crime officers who work closely with local businesses, to improve the standard of retail crime investigations, so that we can bring more offenders to justice.

“In Telford, as well as across the three counties, new initiatives have been launched and resulted in a rise of positive outcomes. In the first quarter of last year’s performance in Telford (1 April 2023 to 30 June 2023), there were 65 positive outcomes for investigations, where in the same period this year this figure rose to 181.

“These statistics have shown local retailers that if crime is reported, we will listen, we will act and we will continue to hold criminals accountable for their actions.”

Elsewhere, West Mercia bucked national trends. Police-recorded theft from the person saw a 17 per cent increase across England and Wales, but West Mercia recorded a 29 per cent decrease, with 344 offences recorded.

Similarly, with robbery, West Mercia saw a decrease of 12 per cent from last year, while throughout England and Wales forces saw an eight per cent increase in offences.

Overall, West Mercia recorded 86,600 offences in the year to March 2024, a 9 per cent decrease from figures in 2023.