The Crime Survey for England and Wales has been published by the Office for National Statistics, showing rising shop theft on the convenience sector.
The survey, which covers the year to September 2017, revealed that there has been a 10% increase in the number of shop thefts to 383,178. This marks the second consecutive year of increases, despite an overall decline in the level of crime.
ACS chief executive James Lowman said: “The increase in shop theft reported by the ONS is extremely concerning for convenience retailers, but will not come as a surprise. Most retailers in the sector will have experienced some form of shop theft over the last year, with many dealing with persistent repeat offenders that aren’t being dealt with properly by the justice system.
“The figures released today also only refer to reported instances, and with police forces increasingly looking to redirect resources to other crimes, retailers could be dissuaded from reporting thefts committed against their business. We encourage all retailers that have been affected by theft to report those incidents, and will continue to encourage police forces to ensure that theft is taken seriously at a local level.”
The ACS 2017 Crime Report shows that last year, shop theft alone cost the convenience sector in excess of £131m.
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