Shoplifting in England and Wales is at a 20-year high.
A total of 469,788 offences were logged by police forces in the year to June: up 29% on the previous 12 months.
The figure is the highest since current records began in 2003, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS).
Policing minister Dame Diana Johnson said it demonstrates the “scale of the challenge we have inherited in our mission to make streets safer”.
It comes as major retailers have raised concerns about the increased cost of theft. But what are the most shoplifted items? Yahoo News UK takes a look.
What are the most commonly shoplifted items?
The Association of Convenience Stores (ACS), which describes itself as the voice of the UK’s 50,000 local shops, publishes an annual crime report and told Yahoo News UK the 10 most commonly stolen items are:
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Meat
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Alcohol
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Confectionery
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Cheese
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Soft drinks
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Coffee
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Household items (cleaning products etc)
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Vapes
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Tobacco
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Health/pharmacy products
Why are these particular items targeted?
Experts have suggested the motivation for targeting these items often revolves around black market resales to other businesses.
Chief Constable Amanda Blakeman, of the National Police Chiefs’ Council, told The Times in August: “When you see CCTV footage of somebody clearing a high-value area of a shop, such as beef, lamb, all the things that are tagged in shops, it’s not because they’re taking that home to have a Sunday roast.
“It’s because they’ve got a market to sell it.”
And a report commissioned earlier this year by Co-op, entitled “Stealing With Impunity”, said: “It is not uncommon for prolific offenders to identify small independent businesses in the vicinity, such as cafés, pubs and restaurants, that will purchase fresh produce (typically meat and cheese) to serve to customers on their premises, or convenience stores and other local shops that will purchase other stolen goods (e.g., alcohol, tobacco, confectionery, laundry products) to sell on for profit.”
A Co-op risk manager said: “We know through the trackers we put on tobacco that stolen product is going from our store to independent retailers. We know that wine is being sent to independent retailers and we know that food goods are being stolen to order for restaurants. A steak stolen from the Co-op might cost £3 from an offender and they’re selling it for £15.
“It’s an attractive proposition.”
What is the government doing about shoplifting?
The new government has vowed to tackle low-level shoplifting, as well as make assaulting a shop worker a specific criminal offence.
Retailers have said they hope the measures, which were set out in the King’s Speech in July, will make it easier for police to investigate and prosecute criminals.
Policing minister Dame Diana Johnson said in response to the latest shoplifting figures on Thursday: “Too many town centres have been decimated by record levels of shoplifting, and communities have been left shaken by rising levels of knife crime, snatch theft and robbery. This cannot continue.
“This government will restore neighbourhood policing across the country, put thousands more dedicated officers out on our streets and scrap the £200 shoplifting threshold, bringing an end to the effective impunity for thieves who steal low value goods.”
Shoplifting measures will be introduced as part of the Crime and Policing Bill, but this has yet to come before parliament.
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