Asked by: John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether he has had recent discussions with the police on taking steps to help tackle shoplifting in rural areas.
Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Government recognises the significant impact shoplifting has on businesses, communities, and consumers. The Crime Survey for England and Wales shows neighbourhood crime is down 48% compared to findings from the year ending March 2010.
However, Police Recorded Crime figures show shoplifting offences increased by 32% in the 12 months to September 2023. Statistics also show the number of people charged with shoplifting offences has risen by 34% in the year ending September 2023, showing that police are taking action.
We have recently taken significant steps to improve the police response to retail crime, including shoplifting.
In October 2023, the National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) published the Retail Crime Action Plan. Through this Plan, all forces across England and Wales have committed to prioritise police attendance at the scene where violence has been used towards shop staff, where an offender has been detained by store security, and where evidence needs to be secured and can only be done by police personnel. Additionally, where CCTV or other digital images are secured, police will run this through the Police National Database to aid efforts to identify prolific offenders or potentially dangerous individuals.
This builds on the NPCC commitment that police forces across England and Wales will follow up all crimes where there is actionable evidence and the chance of identifying an offender, including shoplifting.
October also saw the launch of Pegasus, a unique private-public partnership, which involves retailers providing data, intelligence and evidence to Opal, the national police intelligence unit on organised acquisitive crime, to develop a better strategic picture and help forces crack down on serious offenders.
The Government’s plan – "Fighting retail crime: more action" was launched on 10 April, which highlights five areas of work this Government will drive forward to tackle retail crime:
This builds on the police-led Retail Crime Action Plan.
We are continuing to work closely with retail businesses, security representatives, trade associations and policing through the National Retail Crime Steering Group (NRCSG), which meets on a quarterly basis, to ensure the response to retail crime, including shoplifting, is as robust as it can be.
Asked by: John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps he is taking to reduce shoplifting in (a) Lincolnshire and (b) the East Midlands.
Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Government recognises the significant impact shoplifting has on businesses, communities and consumers. The Crime Survey for England and Wales shows neighbourhood crime is down 48% compared to findings from the year ending March 2010.
However, Police Recorded Crime figures show shoplifting offences increased by 37% in the 12 months to December 2023. Statistics also show the number of people charged with shoplifting offences has risen by 46% in the year ending December 2023, showing that police are taking action.
We have recently taken significant steps nationally to improve the police response to retail crime, including shoplifting, and these are being implemented in all police forces across England and Wales.
The Government’s plan – "Fighting retail crime: more action" was launched on 10 April, which highlights five areas of work this Government will drive forward to tackle retail crime:
We will bring forward legislative changes to introduce a presumption towards electronic monitoring as part of a sentence served in the community for those who repeatedly steal from shops. This legislative change will provide that on the third sentencing occasion, an offender would be electronically monitored as part of any community sentence or post-release for the duration of any licence period.
The Government’s plan builds on the National Police Chiefs’ Council’s (NPCC) Retail Crime Action Plan. Through this Plan, all forces across England and Wales have committed to prioritise police attendance at the scene where violence has been used towards shop staff, where an offender has been detained by store security, and where evidence needs to be secured and can only be done by police personnel. Additionally, where CCTV or other digital images are secured, police will run this through the Police National Database to aid efforts to identify prolific offenders or potentially dangerous individuals.
This builds on the NPCC commitment that police forces across England and Wales will follow up all crimes where there is actionable evidence and the chance of identifying an offender, including shoplifting.
October also saw the launch of Pegasus, a unique private-public partnership, which involves retailers providing data, intelligence and evidence to Opal, the national police intelligence unit on organised acquisitive crime, to develop a better strategic picture and help forces crack down on serious offenders.
We are continuing to work closely with retail businesses, security representatives, trade associations and policing through the National Retail Crime Steering Group (NRCSG), which meets on a quarterly basis, to ensure the response to retail crime, including shoplifting, is as robust as it can be.
Written Evidence Apr. 17 2024
Inquiry: Violence and abuse towards retail workersFound: VTR0040 - Violence and abuse towards retail workers Association of Convenience Stores Written Evidence
Asked by: Lord Swire (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with police forces in England and Wales about their response to shoplifting, in the light of the Retail Crime Action Plan.
Answered by Lord Sharpe of Epsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
The Government recognises the significant impact shoplifting and violence towards shopworkers has on businesses, communities, and consumers, as well as the loss to the economy. The Government has been clear we expect a zero-tolerance approach to retail crime and shoplifting.
It’s difficult to produce reliable estimates of the cost of shoplifting. Many incidents do not come to the attention of the police, so data on the number of shoplifting crimes recorded by them only provide a partial picture. While official statistics from the Commercial Victimisation Survey (CVS) provide reliable estimates of the prevalence and frequency of shoplifting, the CVS no longer collects data the number of shoplifting offences or the overall cost of these crimes. When the CVS has collected this information in the past, retailers found it difficult to recall precise numbers of crimes they experienced, and the associated costs. As a result, these estimates we judged to be insufficiently reliable.
Home Office ministers have not met Retail Against Crime. The National Retail Crime Steering Group (NRCSG), which the Minister for Crime, Policing and Fire, the Rt Hon Chris Philp, co-chairs alongside the British Retail Consortium, ensures the response to retail crime is as robust as it can be. The NRCSG meets quarterly and comprises senior representatives from policing, the retail sector, retail trade associations, security providers and Government departments.
At this forum, the Retail Crime Action Plan is a standing agenda item. At the last NRCSG, policing colleagues updated me on the implementation of the plan. Statistics published by the National Police Chiefs’ Council show early signs of progress. A dip-sample of data from 31 police forces of over 1,500 crimes show police attended 60% of incidents reported by retailers where violence had been used, with 16% of forces sampled reporting 100% attendance to this type of incident.
The Government is supporting Pegasus, a unique private-public partnership, which involves retailers providing data, intelligence and evidence to Opal, the national police intelligence unit on organised acquisitive crime, to develop a better strategic picture and help forces crack down on serious offenders.
The Home Office will continue to work with members of the NRCSG, including policing and retailers to tackle shoplifting, including organised, as well as other crime experienced within retail settings through our wider work.
Asked by: Lord Swire (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with Retailers Against Crime on the rise in organised shoplifting.
Answered by Lord Sharpe of Epsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
The Government recognises the significant impact shoplifting and violence towards shopworkers has on businesses, communities, and consumers, as well as the loss to the economy. The Government has been clear we expect a zero-tolerance approach to retail crime and shoplifting.
It’s difficult to produce reliable estimates of the cost of shoplifting. Many incidents do not come to the attention of the police, so data on the number of shoplifting crimes recorded by them only provide a partial picture. While official statistics from the Commercial Victimisation Survey (CVS) provide reliable estimates of the prevalence and frequency of shoplifting, the CVS no longer collects data the number of shoplifting offences or the overall cost of these crimes. When the CVS has collected this information in the past, retailers found it difficult to recall precise numbers of crimes they experienced, and the associated costs. As a result, these estimates we judged to be insufficiently reliable.
Home Office ministers have not met Retail Against Crime. The National Retail Crime Steering Group (NRCSG), which the Minister for Crime, Policing and Fire, the Rt Hon Chris Philp, co-chairs alongside the British Retail Consortium, ensures the response to retail crime is as robust as it can be. The NRCSG meets quarterly and comprises senior representatives from policing, the retail sector, retail trade associations, security providers and Government departments.
At this forum, the Retail Crime Action Plan is a standing agenda item. At the last NRCSG, policing colleagues updated me on the implementation of the plan. Statistics published by the National Police Chiefs’ Council show early signs of progress. A dip-sample of data from 31 police forces of over 1,500 crimes show police attended 60% of incidents reported by retailers where violence had been used, with 16% of forces sampled reporting 100% attendance to this type of incident.
The Government is supporting Pegasus, a unique private-public partnership, which involves retailers providing data, intelligence and evidence to Opal, the national police intelligence unit on organised acquisitive crime, to develop a better strategic picture and help forces crack down on serious offenders.
The Home Office will continue to work with members of the NRCSG, including policing and retailers to tackle shoplifting, including organised, as well as other crime experienced within retail settings through our wider work.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps he is taking to protect retailers from shoplifting.
Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)
Since 2010 our communities are safer, with neighbourhood crimes including burglary, robbery and theft from the person down 48% and overall violent crime down 44%, and more police officers on the streets than in 2010.
However, there has been a worrying rise in shoplifting and violence towards retail workers, which we are taking action to address. The Government’s plan – "Fighting Retail Crime: more action" was launched on 10 April. It includes a new standalone offence for assaults on retail workers, which will be introduced via the Criminal Justice Bill, currently before Parliament.. We are working with police and businesses to roll out the latest facial recognition to catch these perpetrators; championing good practice to design out crime; and making it easier for retailers to report crime.
We will also legislate through the Criminal Justice Bill, to introduce a presumption towards electronic monitoring as part of a sentence served in the community for those who repeatedly steal from shops.
The Government’s action plan builds on the police-led Retail Crime Action Plan, launched in October 2023, which includes a commitment to prioritise police attendance at the scene where violence has been used towards shop staff, where an offender has been detained by store security, and where evidence needs to be secured and can only be done by police personnel. Additionally, where CCTV or other digital images are secured, police will run this through the Police National Database to aid efforts to identify prolific offenders or potentially dangerous individuals. Early indications suggest that there has been improved police attendance at the retail crime incidents prioritised. This has been echoed by major retailers.
Police forces across England and Wales have also committed to pursuing any available evidence where there is a reasonable chance it could lead them to catching a perpetrator and solving a crime and this includes shoplifting. These are substantial operational policing commitments, which I am overseeing delivery of through the National Retail Crime Steering Group.
Asked by: Lord Swire (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what has been the loss to the UK economy because of shoplifting for each of the last three years.
Answered by Lord Sharpe of Epsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
The Government recognises the significant impact shoplifting and violence towards shopworkers has on businesses, communities, and consumers, as well as the loss to the economy. The Government has been clear we expect a zero-tolerance approach to retail crime and shoplifting.
It’s difficult to produce reliable estimates of the cost of shoplifting. Many incidents do not come to the attention of the police, so data on the number of shoplifting crimes recorded by them only provide a partial picture. While official statistics from the Commercial Victimisation Survey (CVS) provide reliable estimates of the prevalence and frequency of shoplifting, the CVS no longer collects data the number of shoplifting offences or the overall cost of these crimes. When the CVS has collected this information in the past, retailers found it difficult to recall precise numbers of crimes they experienced, and the associated costs. As a result, these estimates we judged to be insufficiently reliable.
Home Office ministers have not met Retail Against Crime. The National Retail Crime Steering Group (NRCSG), which the Minister for Crime, Policing and Fire, the Rt Hon Chris Philp, co-chairs alongside the British Retail Consortium, ensures the response to retail crime is as robust as it can be. The NRCSG meets quarterly and comprises senior representatives from policing, the retail sector, retail trade associations, security providers and Government departments.
At this forum, the Retail Crime Action Plan is a standing agenda item. At the last NRCSG, policing colleagues updated me on the implementation of the plan. Statistics published by the National Police Chiefs’ Council show early signs of progress. A dip-sample of data from 31 police forces of over 1,500 crimes show police attended 60% of incidents reported by retailers where violence had been used, with 16% of forces sampled reporting 100% attendance to this type of incident.
The Government is supporting Pegasus, a unique private-public partnership, which involves retailers providing data, intelligence and evidence to Opal, the national police intelligence unit on organised acquisitive crime, to develop a better strategic picture and help forces crack down on serious offenders.
The Home Office will continue to work with members of the NRCSG, including policing and retailers to tackle shoplifting, including organised, as well as other crime experienced within retail settings through our wider work.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many thefts from retail businesses there have been in each of the last three years.
Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)
Since 2010 theft offences experienced by the general population has fallen by 48%, according to the Crime Survey for England and Wales, but shoplifting has been increasing in the last three years, as shown in the table.
Calendar Year | Number of Shoplifting offences |
2021 | 256,199 |
2022 | 315,040 |
2023 | 430,104 |
Source: ONS Crime in England and Wales: year ending December 2023, Appendix Table A4.
There must be a zero tolerance approach to such crime which is why, alongside key partners, this Government is taking concerted action to address the menace of retail crime. The Government’s plan – "Fighting retail crime: more action" was launched on 10 April, and highlights five areas of work this Government will drive forward to tackle retail crime:
Asked by: Thérèse Coffey (Conservative - Suffolk Coastal)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps he is taking to reduce shoplifting in Suffolk.
Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)
Since 2010 our communities are safer, with neighbourhood crimes including burglary, robbery and theft from the person down 48% and overall violent crime down 44%, and with more police officers on the streets than in 2010.
However, there has been a worrying rise in shoplifting and violence towards retail workers, which we need to address.
Police Recorded Crime figures show shoplifting offences increased by 37% in the 12 months to December 2023. Although, the number of people charged with shoplifting offences in the same period rose by 46%, showing the police are heeding the message and taking action.
The Government has taken a number of recent significant steps to reduce and prevent retail crime. Our plan – "Fighting retail crime: more action" was launched on 10 April, which highlights five areas of work this Government will drive forward to tackle retail crime. This will include us introducing a presumption towards electronic monitoring as part of a sentence served in the community for those who repeatedly steal from shops. We will develop a retail theft electronic monitoring (EM) ‘package’, to offer sentencers starting in a pilot area, a clear community sentence pathway for repeat retail theft offenders.
This builds on the police-led Retail Crime Action Plan, which includes a commitment to prioritise police attendance at the scene where violence has been used towards shop staff, where an offender has been detained by store security, and where evidence needs to be secured and can only be done by police personnel. Figures published by the NPCC show early signs of progress.
Furthermore, we will bring forward legislative changes to introduce a presumption towards electronic monitoring as part of a sentence served in the community for those who repeatedly steal from shops. This legislative change will provide that on the third sentencing occasion, an offender would be electronically monitored as part of any community sentence or post-release for the duration of any licence period.
Under section 176 of the Anti-social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014, low-value shoplifting (value of £200 or less) is a summary offence, unless an adult elects to be tried in the Crown Court. Where a summary offence is committed, the case can be handled as a police-led prosecution.
Police-led prosecutions were introduced to improve the efficiency of the criminal justice system by allowing for a simpler, more proportionate police-led process in high-volume, low-level, uncontested cases. This route enables cases to be handled more speedily, rather than cases having to go to the CPS and through the Crown Court.
Repealing this would mean victims of shoplifting have to wait longer for cases to come to court.
Asked by: Stephen Morgan (Labour - Portsmouth South)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of scrapping the £200 summary offence rule for shoplifting and theft.
Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)
Since 2010 our communities are safer, with neighbourhood crimes including burglary, robbery and theft from the person down 48% and overall violent crime down 44%, and with more police officers on the streets than in 2010.
However, there has been a worrying rise in shoplifting and violence towards retail workers, which we need to address.
Police Recorded Crime figures show shoplifting offences increased by 37% in the 12 months to December 2023. Although, the number of people charged with shoplifting offences in the same period rose by 46%, showing the police are heeding the message and taking action.
The Government has taken a number of recent significant steps to reduce and prevent retail crime. Our plan – "Fighting retail crime: more action" was launched on 10 April, which highlights five areas of work this Government will drive forward to tackle retail crime. This will include us introducing a presumption towards electronic monitoring as part of a sentence served in the community for those who repeatedly steal from shops. We will develop a retail theft electronic monitoring (EM) ‘package’, to offer sentencers starting in a pilot area, a clear community sentence pathway for repeat retail theft offenders.
This builds on the police-led Retail Crime Action Plan, which includes a commitment to prioritise police attendance at the scene where violence has been used towards shop staff, where an offender has been detained by store security, and where evidence needs to be secured and can only be done by police personnel. Figures published by the NPCC show early signs of progress.
Furthermore, we will bring forward legislative changes to introduce a presumption towards electronic monitoring as part of a sentence served in the community for those who repeatedly steal from shops. This legislative change will provide that on the third sentencing occasion, an offender would be electronically monitored as part of any community sentence or post-release for the duration of any licence period.
Under section 176 of the Anti-social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014, low-value shoplifting (value of £200 or less) is a summary offence, unless an adult elects to be tried in the Crown Court. Where a summary offence is committed, the case can be handled as a police-led prosecution.
Police-led prosecutions were introduced to improve the efficiency of the criminal justice system by allowing for a simpler, more proportionate police-led process in high-volume, low-level, uncontested cases. This route enables cases to be handled more speedily, rather than cases having to go to the CPS and through the Crown Court.
Repealing this would mean victims of shoplifting have to wait longer for cases to come to court.