We have heard a lot in the news about the serious increase in shoplifting. The Office of National Statistics recently reported that shop lifting crimes in England and Wales had increased by 37% last year, up from 315,00 in 2022 to 430,000 in 2023.
Figures reported by Surrey Police showed an increase of 36%, up from 3,756 in 2022 to 5.094 in 2023. The highest increase by Borough was Epsom & Ewell which had increased by 100% from 178 to 356. The next highest increase was Reigate & Banstead which was up 57% from 418 in 2022 to 684 in 2023.
Surrey Police commented that there had been an increase of offences being reported but news reports seem to suggest that many retailers are not bothering to report offences as they don’t think they will get any response from the police.
Surrey Police say that their solved crime rate has increased from 5% last July to 14.4% for the last 12 months (rolling). They say they are tackling shop lifting by a number of measures including:
- Uniformed and plain clothes patrols at shoplifting hotspot areas
- Working with shopkeepers to develop problem-solving in repeat offending locations
- Increasing physical attendance at shoplifting offences, particularly in cases where an offender is detained or violence has been used
- Ongoing review of new and recent shoplifting offences, including pursuing offenders where reasonable lines of enquiry exist
- Engaging with shop owners and shop workers to share security advice and gather evidence
- Increased intelligence work to identify trends, patterns, and prolific offenders
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Chief Inspector Andrew Hill, Surrey’s lead for business crime, said: “Crimes against retailers and their staff are unacceptable, and we have been working hard to improve our response to these offences and the quality of our investigations.”
“We acknowledge that there has been an increase in offences being reported. Shoplifting was a previously under-reported offence, and more reporting is encouraged to be able to better deal with the issue.”