Thieves are increasingly threatening violence against retailers and shop workers, with a 10% increase in the number of robberies in the sector over the past year.
That is according to the latest Crime Survey for England and Wales, released by the Office for National Statistics on October 22.
However, the figures do also show a 2% fall in the number of shop thefts recorded by the police in the year to June 2026.
According to the Association of Convenience Stores, one reason for the marked increase in robberies – defined as theft when violence occurs or is threatened – could be a change in the way some offences that would previously have been counted as shoplifting are recorded.
It points to the ONS’s own definition, which says: “If an offender enters a retail premises, steals, and either uses or threatens violence against a shop worker, or security guard, or any other person at the time, or uses or threatens violence to escape, then an offence of robbery of business property should be recorded.”
ACS has welcomed the apparent change as it says it means offences will be treated more seriously by the authorities. However, it cautions against claims that theft is falling.
“We are extremely concerned about the changing nature of theft against retailers,” says ACS chief executive Ed Woodall. “Offenders are becoming more confident, more brazen, and ultimately more violent in their crimes, threatening retailers and shop workers to get away with stolen goods.”
It says the Crime and Policing Act – which received Royal Assent this April – marks “a big step forward in ensuring that the police treat shop theft more seriously”. However, it says measures in the Act such as scrapping the £200 threshold for investigating thefts and the separate offence of attacking a shop worker are still not in place.
“The government must act as soon as possible to show that it backs the hardworking people running and working in our nation’s shops,” says Woodall.
Findings from the ONS report include:
- A 2% decrease in reported shoplifting offences to 519,516
- A 10% increase in robberies to 88,282
- A 6% fall in offences involving knives or sharp instruments to 48,615
- An 8% decrease in offences involving firearms to 5,065.
