Traders across the South West have expressed their fear after new figures show shoplifting up 46 per cent.
Police recorded crime statistics in the year to September 2024, have shown that there were increases in shoplifting across most South West constabulary areas. In the whole of England and Wales, there has been a trend of persistent quarterly increases, with incidents now having doubled since the pandemic.
The Office for National Statistics released figures showing a 23 per cent increase in shoplifting incidents across South West constabulary areas, with Devon and Cornwall seeing the sharpest rise.
Usdaw, a retail trade union, has expressed its concerns regarding the new figures. Interim figures from the organisation’s latest annual survey of over 4,000 retail staff showed that 17 per cent of retail workers suffered a violent attack last year, compared to 8 per cent in 2022. Seven in 10 respondents said that incidents of violence, threats and abuse they’d experienced were triggered by theft or armed robbery.
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The British Retail Consortium has published its annual crime report, which shows that retail violence and abuse increased over 50 per cent to more than 2,000 incidents a day in 2024, losses from customer theft reached a record £2.2-billion in 2023/24, and record crime levels were despite retailers spending £1.8-billion on prevention.
Paddy Lillis, Usdaw general secretary said: “The scale of the epidemic of retail crime is laid bare in these shocking police recorded crime statistics and the BRC report. Crime has a very direct impact on the viability of stores, as retailers go to increasing lengths and expense to make them secure and safe. Communities are blighted by anti-social behaviour and store closures. Staff are working in fear of the next incident of abuse, threats or violence.
“It is increasingly common for retail stores to be targeted by organised crime gangs stealing to order. This is in no way a victimless crime, with weapons and violence used to ensure these criminals are not stopped. Having to deal with repeated and persistent offences can cause issues beyond the theft itself, like anxiety, fear and physical harm to retail workers. Usdaw’s survey of over 4,000 retail workers found that 70 per cent had suffered incidents of violence, threats and abuse that were triggered by theft and armed robbery. So this increase in shoplifting is hugely concerning.”