Retail theft and personal theft push crime figures to alarming heights
For the first time on record, shoplifting offences across England and Wales have topped half a million in a single year. Official figures released by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) reveal 516,971 reported cases in 2024, marking a 20% increase from 429,873 incidents in 2023.
This marks the highest annual total since current police data recording began in 2003.
Theft Trends See Sharp Rise Post-Pandemic
The ONS attributes the sharp rise to a broader post-COVID-19 crime uptick, with shoplifting consistently running at record-breaking levels for two consecutive years.
- Theft from the person also saw a staggering 22% increase in 2024, reaching 152,416 offences, up from 125,379 in 2023.
- Overall theft offences rose slightly to 1.80 million, up 1% year-on-year, largely fuelled by surging shoplifting and personal theft incidents.
ONS analyst Billy Gazard noted, “Shoplifting offences continue to rise, reaching half a million offences in the year ending December 2024, the highest on record.”
Government Reacts with Policing Commitments
Policing minister Dame Diana Johnson responded with a firm stance: “This Labour Government will not tolerate the criminality blighting our communities.”
She added, “That’s why we’re putting almost 3,000 more bobbies on the beat in neighbourhood roles this year, and under our leadership, these crimes will receive the attention they deserve.”
Johnson was also quick to contrast Labour’s current policing efforts with past Conservative governance: “Today’s figures are yet more evidence of the damage done by destroying neighbourhood policing as the Tories did over 14 years.”
In contrast, Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp accused Labour of failing to prioritise public safety. “Law and order is taking a backseat under Labour,” he said. “They must urgently get a grip to ensure our police have the resources they need to cut crime and keep the British people safe.”
Police Struggle to Charge Offenders
PA analysis of Home Office data reveals that of the 494,086 shoplifting cases with an outcome:
- Only 19% (93,156) led to a charge or summons, a modest rise from 17% in 2023.
- A staggering 57% (281,107) ended without identifying a suspect, unchanged from the previous year.
Retailers Sound the Alarm
Tom Ironside from the British Retail Consortium (BRC) described the retail crime situation as spiralling “out of control.”
He said: “While retailers are spending £1.8 billion on anti-crime measures, thieves are becoming bolder and more aggressive, resulting in an increase in violence and abuse against staff.”
According to Ironside, shoplifting costs UK retailers over £2.2 billion annually. A BRC survey indicated more than 20 million incidents occur each year, many of which go unreported. “Shopkeepers simply don’t have faith that action will be taken by the police,” he said.
Andrew Goodacre, CEO of the British Independent Retailers Association, called the statistics “the tip of the iceberg.” He welcomed new government initiatives like the Crime and Policing Bill and increased police presence on high streets but stressed, “retailers need to see immediate, tangible results.”
Knife Crime and Overall Crime Trends
Beyond shoplifting, the ONS report revealed other notable trends:
- Knife crime offences rose by 2% to 54,587 in 2024.
- Knife-enabled homicides fell by 16%, down to 216 cases.
- Homicide overall dropped to 535, the lowest since 2014.
Total police-recorded crimes fell slightly by 1% to 6.64 million in 2024, down from 6.68 million in 2023. However, this remains significantly higher than the 4.03 million crimes logged a decade ago.
The ONS cautioned that these figures also reflect changes in police activity and recording practices, and not solely a rise in actual crime rates.
Survey Shows Fraud and Theft Driving Crime Spike
The ONS’s separate Crime Survey for England and Wales estimated that people aged 16 and over experienced 9.61 million crime incidents in 2024, up from 8.40 million in 2023. This surge is primarily attributed to:
- A 33% increase in fraud, reaching 4.10 million incidents.
- A 13% rise in theft, totalling 2.93 million cases.
Mr Gazard explained, “The increase in crime recorded by the survey in the recent period has been driven by fraud and theft. Notably, there has been a significant increase in theft from the person, with mobile phones the most common item stolen.”
Despite this, long-term trends remain positive. The ONS emphasised that crime experiences have generally trended downward since the mid-1990s.
Shoplifting and personal theft are fast becoming major concerns for communities, retailers, and police forces alike. While official figures suggest improvements in charges and convictions, confidence in enforcement remains low.
As the Government and law enforcement agencies ramp up efforts to restore order, the nation watches closely for signs of real change.
