Shop theft incidences rose by 20% to 516,971 offences in the year ending December 2024, compared with the previous year, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS), bringing it to its highest level since current police recording practices began in 2003.

The growth is compared to the twelve month period ending in December 2023, which saw 429,873 offences. The rise in shop theft is also relative to only a 1% growth in thefts of all kinds across the country in the same period, which ONS said means the national increase was “mainly because” of shop theft.

The ACS responded to the crime figures, saying: “The number of offences continues the trend of ONS crime outputs showing the highest ever recorded figures since current recording practices began in 2003.”

Retailers sceptical about new Crime and Policing Bill

ACS chief executive James Lowman said: “The increase in shop theft shown by these figures reflects what our members are seeing every day in their stores. The volume of theft is still massively under-reported though: our own member survey revealed 6.2mn thefts recorded by convenience stores alone. It is encouraging that more theft is being reported, even if it is still only the tip of the iceberg. Unless theft is reported, we cannot identify the repeat offenders who are responsible for so much of this crime.

“The Crime and Policing Bill gives more powers to the police and courts to deal with these offenders, and the Retail Crime Action Plan makes clear that shop theft must be investigated. It’s time that these plans were implemented across the country to support retailers and their colleagues,” Lowman continued.

SGF reveals ‘devastating’ retail crime impact costing avg. local shop £19,673 per year

The ONS figures come after the Scottish Grocers Federation last month said in its annual crime report that the amount the average Scottish convenience store is losing per year to crime has increased by around £5,000 per year to £19,673.

The government has announced the recruitment of 13,000 police officers as part of the Police and Crime Bill. Other measures include making the assault of a shop worker a separate offence and increasing powers to crack down on offenders who repeatedly commit antisocial behaviour.

“The Crime and Policing Bill will be introduced later this year, making it a separate offence to assault a shop worker among other measures. ACS has been calling for a complete reset on the perception of retail crime and especially shop theft, with an ambition to send a clear message that theft is a crime that will be investigated by local forces,” Lowman added.

Read more retail crime news