Shop theft rising, ONS data shows

Responding to ONS stats, that show shoplifting offences rose by 13% (to 529,994) in the year ending June 2025, Lucy Whing, Crime Policy Adviser at the BRC, said:

“Retail theft is a major issue for retailers, costing over £2.2bn a year. While ONS figures do not reveal the true scale of the issue as it only tracks reported incidents, it chimes with our own statistics which show shoplifting soaring in recent years. The causes are manifold, but the rise in organised crime is a particular concern, with gangs systematically hitting stores one after another, all over the country. 
 
“Theft is also a major trigger for violence and abuse against staff. Incidents of violence and abuse have risen to over 2,000 per day. These incidents are not restricted to those working in stores: new figures from Usdaw revealed that more than three quarters of delivery drivers have been a victim of abuse and over one in ten have been assaulted over the last twelve months.
 
“Fortunately, Government and police are committed to turning the tide on crime. We are edging closer to the implementation of the Crime and Policing Bill, which will soon go to the Committee Stage. The Bill will remove the £200 threshold for ‘low level’ theft, which will send a clear signal that all shoplifting is unacceptable and will not be tolerated. It will also introduce a standalone offence for assaulting a retail worker, which will increase sentencing and improve the visibility of violence against retail workers so that police can allocate the necessary resources to tackle this challenge. We call on the government to ensure that the final Act extends protections to include delivery drivers.”