Shoplifting across England and Wales has hit its highest rate in over two decades, official statistics have revealed.
The amount of incidents rose 20% to 530,643 during the year to the end of March, marking the highest number recorded by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) since records began in 2003.
The number represented a 20% rise on the previous year’s 444,022 incidents.
The government department’s figures were equivalent to over 10,000 thefts per week, or more than 1,400 per day and almost three thefts per minute, based off average shop opening times in the UK of 9am to 6pm.
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It comes after shop theft hit £2.2bn in the UK last year, jumping from £1.8bn the year before, industry data revealed.
Retailers warned that the issue added at least 6p to every shop transaction made by customers.
Shoplifting previously hit record levels in April, with incidents rising to their highest rate since police records started, according to the ONS.
Offences surged 20% to 516,971 cases during the year ending December 2024, rising from 429,873 the year before.
In June, retailers cautiously welcomed Chancellor Rachel Reeves’ £2bn boost to police funding amid growing pressure to tackle rising retail crime. However, they warned that it would not solve high street crime.
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