Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment his Department has made of the scale of shop theft in England and Wales; and what role (a) the Government, (b) Police and Crime Commissioners and (c) local police forces are planning to play in tackling the root cause of shop theft offending.

Statistics on shoplifting offences reported to the police are recorded in the crime statistics published by the Office for National Statistics. The statistics can be accessed via their website at www.ons.gov.uk.

We encourage all retailers to report shoplifting to the police whenever it occurs, so that these crimes can be investigated so, where appropriate, the offenders can be brought to justice. It must, however, remain a matter for chief constables and Police and Crime Commissioners, as operational leaders and elected local representatives, to decide how best to deploy resources to respond to these crimes, alongside other local priorities.

On a national level, the police, Police and Crime Commissioners, relevant government departments and the retail sector are all represented on the National Retail Crime Steering Group, which ensures a collaborative response to all the crimes that affect the retail sector. Within the Steering Group we have discussed different approaches to preventing and tackling shoplifting and this will continue to be a priority.