Responding to ONS stats, that show shoplifting offences rose by
20% (to 530,643) in the year ending March 2025, Tom Ironside,
Director of Business & Regulation at the BRC, said:
“The ONS figures prove what retailers have long been telling us –
that retail theft is spiralling out of control. Sadly, such theft
is not a victimless crime; it pushes up the cost for honest
shoppers and damages the customer experience for everyone. Retail
theft costs retailers, and their customers, over £2.2bn a year
and are a major trigger for violence and abuse against staff.
While the causes are manifold, the rise in organised crime is a
significant concern, with gangs hitting store after store, even
within a single day.
“These stats come as the UK experiences record levels of retail
crime with incidents of violence and abuse climbing to over 2,000
per day. These incidents are not restricted to those working in
stores: delivery drivers are often subjected to abuse, physical
violence, and threats with weapons. As a result, many are being
equipped with protective measures, such as personal safety
devices to alert the police of their whereabouts, and DNA spit
testing kits.
“Following our representations, the government is taking action
to address retail crime through the new Crime and Policing Bill.
Retailers hope this will play a vital role in protecting retail
workers from harm and tackling the surge in theft. It will remove
the £200 threshold for ‘low level' theft, which will send a clear
signal that all shoplifting is unacceptable and will not be
tolerated. The Bill will also introduce a standalone offence for
assaulting a retail worker, which will increase sentencing and
improve the visibility of violence against staff so that police
can allocate appropriate resources to the challenge. This Bill
needs to go further and protect all retail staff working in
customer facing roles, including delivery drivers, just as the
Workers Protection Act does in Scotland.”
