Shoplifting offences rise to highest level on record trends now
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Shoplifting offences recorded by police in England and Wales have risen to the highest level on record, new data revealed today.
A total of 430,104 offences were recorded in the year to December 2023, up 37% from 315,040 in the previous 12 months.
This is the highest figure since current police recording practices began in the year ending March 2003. according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS).
The number of offences involving theft from the person stood at 125,563 in 2023, up 18% from 106,606 in 2022, and is the highest level since 2004 (137,154).
This is the moment two shoplifters brazenly steal products from a Boots store just yards from a police station - as helpless staff watch on
The pair can be seen chucking products from the shelves into big black sports bags at the store on Station Road, Chingford
Commenting on the latest crime figures for England and Wales, Nick Stripe of the Office for National Statistics said: 'In the past 12 months, police recorded crime shows notable increases in robbery, theft from the person and shoplifting.
'The latter has risen by more than 100,000 offences, while the police have been dealing with the highest levels of theft from the person offences recorded in two decades.
'While levels of headline crime measured by the Crime Survey for England and
