Asked by: James Asser (Labour - West Ham and Beckton)
Question to the Attorney General:
To ask the Solicitor General, what steps she is taking to help ensure effective prosecution for shoplifting.
Answered by Ellie Reeves - Solicitor General (Attorney General's Office)
This Government’s Safer Streets Mission will drive forward the change we need to crack down on shoplifting – a crime that is blighting our communities.
This Government is putting a stop to the effective immunity for shoplifting of goods below £200 and bringing in a new offence of assaulting a retail worker to protect those who face unacceptable abuse in their roles serving the public.
The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) prosecutes shoplifting cases robustly where the Code of Crown Prosecutors is met. In the financial year 2024/25, the CPS prosecuted 121,216 offences relating to theft from a shop. This was a 39.4% increase from the year before (86,918 in 2023/2024). In the same year, the CPS prosecuted 2,145 attempted shoplifting offences, an increase of 35.6% from the previous year (2023-2024).