Calls for action after 13% rise in shoplifting across the North West

Shoplifting offences recorded by police in England and Wales have risen to the highest level in 20 years, surpassing figures seen before the coronavirus pandemic for the first time.

Some 402,482 offences were recorded in the year to September 2023, up nearly a third (32%) on 304,459 in the previous 12 months, data published by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) on Thursday shows.

It is the first time since current records began in 2002/03 that the number recorded by police has risen higher than 400,000 and is above pre-pandemic levels.

The previous peak of 382,643 was recorded in the year to March 2018.

The Office for National Statistics figures showed a 13% increase in shoplifting incidents across the North West and by area as follows:

· Cheshire +31%

· Cumbria -1%

· Greater Manchester +7%

· Lancashire +19%

· Merseyside +10%

Pam Thompson is from the USDAW union in the North West says it is not a victimless crime - with shoplifting often going hand in hand with abuse: "It should surprise but it doesn't surprise and it does match what our members are telling us.

"The USDAW members are strong people they go because they need to work and the last thing they want is someone to come in and be abusive to them."

Pam added: "Shoplifting is actually a huge link to violence in the workplace as well.

"If they shoplifters don't get what they want then they will, even if its only a verbal it is still important as it has an impact.

"At the end of the day why should somebody go to work to be faced with somebody coming in to abuse them rather than just coming in to do their shopping."

Catherine Grant, from the ONS, said there was a "mixed picture of crime" but police recorded crime is showing "notable increases in some theft offences, including shoplifting" as well as a rise in thefts of motor vehicles.

It comes after major retailers raised concerns about the rising cost of theft.

The Prime Minister's official spokesman said: "We'd always want to do more to combat shoplifting.

"I think there is work that has been done, particularly with private companies, about how we can go further to tackle this issue."

Downing Street also said the Government "must do more" to tackle knife crime and build on action already taken after the figures showed police-recorded offences involving sharp instruments rose year-on-year.

Some 48,716 offences were recorded in the 12 months to September 2023, up 5% from 46,367 in the previous 12 months. But the figures have not yet returned to levels seen before the Covid-19 pandemic and are still 5% lower than the 51,228 in the year to March 2020.

The overall number of crimes recorded by police in England and Wales in the year to September 2023 stood at 6.7 million, up slightly (1%) from 6.6 million in the previous year and higher than 6.1 million in the pre-pandemic year of 2019/20.

Improvement in the recording of offences by police, together with more victims reporting crime, changes in the data to include new offences, plus "genuine increases" in some kinds of crime, have "each made substantial contributions to rises in recorded crime over recent years," the ONS said.

Some 191,186 sexual offences were recorded by police, down slightly (by 3%) from 198,106 in the previous 12 months, but 17% higher than the 163,326 in the pre-pandemic year of 2019/20.

The figures are likely to reflect improvements in police recording practices and increased reporting by victims, which means they "do not provide a reliable measure of trends in these types of crime", the ONS added - though they "do provide a good measure of the crime-related demand on the police".

Figures from the separate ONS Crime Survey for England and Wales suggest people aged 16 and over experienced 8.5 million offences in the year ending September 2023, down 7% from 9.1 million on the previous year.

The report measures experiences of crime in the 12 months before interview, meaning the latest survey - which was conducted between October 2022 and September 2023 - reflects crimes that could have occurred as far back as October 2021.

Experiences of crimes, as measured by the ONS survey, have been on a broad downwards trend since the mid-1990s.