Retailers are confronted with a Christmas crime wave, with figures showing that a record number of shoplifting incidents have gone unsolved over the past year.
Police investigation into approximately 245,500 shoplifting violations were closed this year without a suspect being identified, for an average of 672 per day.
This represents a 38 percent increase on the 178,432 shoplifting incidents that went unsolved in the same period five years ago, according to the House of Commons Library analysis.
Overall, more than half (56.4 percent) of shoplifting cases were closed because no suspect was identified, compared to 48.9 percent five years ago.
Senior police figures have warned that this is organised Crime gangs are increasingly committing shoplifting to orderalso during the festive period.
The data was released as thousands of shoppers rushed to make last-minute purchases before Christmas Eve.
CCTV footage of a woman in Bridport, Dorset hiding Jellycat toys in a pram – GROVES GARDEN CENTER
Lisa Smart, the Liberal Democrats’ shadow home secretary, who commissioned the research, said: “Shop workers are experiencing a Christmas crime wave as shoplifters act with impunity and so many crimes are effectively legalized by the shocking neglect of the previous Conservative government . .
“The new government must get to grips with this shoplifting epidemic and the hardworking frontline retail staff must be assured that they will not be further let down.
“That must start with ministers ensuring that officers actually have the time and resources to focus on their local areas keeping store employees safe. Until that happens, our communities will not see the proper community policing they deserve.”
Only about one in six (17.2 percent) of cases resulted in the indictment or summons of a suspect, down from one in five (21.2 percent) five years ago.
However, this masked enormous variations. Only one in 20 shoplifting cases is solved by the Met, despite violence accounting for 68,000 or 14.7 percent of all shoplifting in England and Wales.
That’s one-sixth the rate of the most successful police organization – Norfolk, where almost a third (32.7 percent) of all shoplifting offenses result in the thief being caught and charged.
Katy Bourne, the Association of Police and Crime Commissioners’ head of retail crime, said there has been an increase in organized crime gangs in recent years shoplifting to order, targeting items that can be resold on one side -made market.
“This has been well organised, especially in recent years. This Christmas will be no different,” she said.
However, she said the launch of the Pegasus partnership between retail chiefs and police was beginning to have an impact, with 28 gangs identified, 93 suspects arrested and 230 individuals identified who previously flew under the police radar.
“The message going around is that the police are on the lookout for the gangs and can identify, track and catch them,” said Ms Bourne, Police and Crime Commissioner for Sussex.
Katy Bourne says police are tracking gangs – DOMINIC LIPINSKI
Shoplifting has reached a record high this year, with 50 offenses recorded every hour in England and Wales – a 30 per cent increase in one year – official figures show.
Shoplifting incidents rose to 443,995 in the year to March 2024, an increase of more than 100,000 compared to 342,428 in the previous twelve months.
Retailers say shoplifting is now so widespread that every shopping transaction by customers is increased by at least 6p, reflecting the cost of the £1.8 billion stolen every year and the extra £700 million retailers spend on security measures.
Labor has promised to introduce new laws to reduce shoplifting by requiring police to investigate even if the goods are worth less than £200.
A crime bill will roll back a so-called “shoplifters charter” introduced in 2014, under which theft of goods under £200 is considered “low value”. The bill also introduces a new, standalone offense of assaulting a store employee. A prison sentence of up to six months is likely, although no final decision has yet been made.
Under an agreement last October between the government and police, officers attend shoplifting incidents when there is violence against a store employee, when a suspected thief is apprehended or when officers are needed to secure evidence. However, police say it is “not realistic” for officers to respond to every shoplifting incident.
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