Latest news with #JamesLowman
Daily Mail
24-04-2025
- Politics
- Daily Mail
Britain's shoplifting epidemic laid bare: Shocking figures show half-a-million offences recorded for the first time since police records began
The number of shoplifting offences recorded by police in England and Wales has passed half a million for the first time, figures show. An astonishing 516,971 offences were logged by forces last year, up 20 per cent from 429,873 in 2023. The figure is the highest since current police records began 22 year ago in 2003, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS). Shoplifting offences have been at record levels for the past two years and have seen a 'sharp rise' since the Covid-19 pandemic, the ONS said. The real figures are likely to be far higher given many shopkeepers feel it is pointless to report offences to police, retail leaders said. Association of Convenience Stores chief executive, James Lowman, said: 'The increase in shop theft shown by these figures reflects what our members are seeing every day in their stores. 'The volume of theft is still massively under-reported though: our own member survey revealed 6.2million thefts recorded by convenience stores alone. 'It is encouraging that more theft is being reported, even if it is still only the tip of the iceberg. Unless theft is reported, we cannot identify the repeat offenders who are responsible for so much of this crime.' Meanwhile 152,416 theft from the person offences were recorded last year, up 22 per cent from 125,379 in 2023 and the highest number since current data began in 2003. A total of 1.80 million theft offences were recorded, up 1 per cent on 2023. The increase was driven by the rise in shoplifting and theft from the person, the ONS said. Responding to the data, policing minister Dame Diana Johnson pledged to turn the tide on soaring shoplifting rates by adding more neighbourhood police officers. She said: 'This Labour Government will not tolerate the criminality blighting our communities. 'That's why we're putting almost 3,000 more bobbies on the beat in neighbourhood roles this year, and under our leadership, these crimes will receive the attention they deserve. 'We are already starting to reverse the Tories' decade of decline on charge rates.' She added: 'Today's figures are yet more evidence of the damage done by destroying neighbourhood policing as the Tories did over 14 years.' Of the 494,086 police-recorded shoplifting offences in England and Wales in 2024 that have so far been assigned an outcome, 19 per cent (93,156) resulted in a charge or summons, up from 17 per cent in 2023, while 57% (281,107) of investigations were completed with no suspect identified, unchanged on the previous year, PA news agency analysis of Home Office figures shows. Elsewhere in the ONS data, 54,587 knife crime offences were recorded by police in England and Wales in 2024, up 2 per cent from 53,413 in 2023 but 1 per cent below the pre-pandemic figure of 55,170 in the year to March 2020. The number of offences involving possession of an article with a blade or point was 28,150, up 1 per cent from 27,892 and higher than the pre-pandemic figure of 23,264 in 2019/20. There were 216 knife-enabled homicides, down 16 per cent from 258 in 2023. Billy Gazard of the ONS said: 'While police-recorded offences involving knives and sharp instruments have increased, there has been a marked decrease in firearms offences. 'However, shoplifting offences continue to rise, reaching half a million offences in the year ending December 2024, the highest on record.' The data showed the number of homicides recorded by police in England and Wales fell to its lowest level in a decade. Some 535 offences were recorded in 2024, down 5 per cent from 563 in 2023 and the lowest figure since 533 in the 12 months to March 2014. Overall, police recorded 6.64 million crimes in England and Wales in 2024, down by 1 per cent from 6.68 million in 2023. The total is up from 4.03 million a decade earlier in 2013/14, but this is likely to reflect 'changes in police activity and recording practices' as well as genuine changes in trends in crimes reported to and recorded by forces, and 'should not be used to say that overall crime has increased', the ONS said. Figures from the separate ONS crime survey for England and Wales suggest people aged 16 and over experienced 9.61 million incidents of crime in 2024, up from 8.40 million in 2023. The rise is mainly due to a 33 per cent increase in fraud, which accounted for 4.10 million incidents in the survey, and a 13 per cent increase in theft, to 2.93 million. The overall total of 9.61 million is lower than the 11.22 million for 2016/17, when fraud and computer misuse were first included in the figures. Mr Gazard added: 'The increase in crime recorded by the survey in the recent period has been driven by fraud and theft. 'Notably there has been a significant increase in theft from the person, with mobile phones the most common item stolen.' Experiences of crimes, as measured by the ONS survey, have been on a broad downwards trend since the mid-1990s. The survey covers a range of personal and household victim-based crime, including theft, robbery, criminal damage, fraud, computer misuse and violence with or without injury, but does not include sexual offences, stalking, harassment and domestic abuse, which are presented separately.
Yahoo
10-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Shoplifting epidemic rockets to 17,000 thefts a day
Britain's shoplifting epidemic has surged to a record high as crime rates at corner shops rose to hit almost 17,000 incidents a day. Shoplifting incidents cost corner shops £316m last year, according to the Association of Convenience Stores (ACS), with 6.2m thefts recorded, up from 5.6m the prior year. Stores also faced more than 59,000 incidents of violence and 1.2m incidents of verbal abuse. James Lowman, the ACS chief executive, said: 'The levels of theft, abuse and violence experienced by retailers over the last year makes for shocking reading, but it will not surprise our members who are living it on a daily basis. 'Criminals targeting local shops without fear of reproach cannot be allowed to continue.' It comes as the Government prepares to clamp down on anti-social behaviour with its Crime and Policing Bill. Under the Bill, which is currently passing through Parliament, the Government is reversing the so-called shoplifters' charter which effectively decriminalised thefts of items worth less than £200. It is also making it a standalone offence to assault a shop worker. The ACS said the legislation marked a 'long-overdue turning point on retail crime'. The industry group's annual crime report revealed that 45pc of shop thieves were repeat offenders. It said the items which were most commonly stolen were alcohol, meat and confectionery. Retailers have been spending heavily to try to keep a lid on crime rates. In total, convenience stores spent £265m on efforts to stop crime over the last year, including installing more CCTV, giving staff body cameras and putting perspex screens in place. The ACS said store owners were increasingly realising that 'equipment deployed in stores is only as effective as the individuals operating it'. It said corner shops were spending more on training their staff how to use crime prevention equipment. It comes amid a wider spending push across retailers to stop crime in stores. Over the weekend, it emerged that supermarket giant Tesco was trialling new trolley scales to check people were paying for everything they had placed in their trolleys. Tesco said the technology was part of efforts to improve customers' shopping experience. Other supermarkets have been investing in more high-tech checkouts to stem thefts. Co-op last year said it was adding artificial intelligence (AI) technology in its convenience stores to help monitor what customers were scanning through. Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.
Telegraph
10-03-2025
- Business
- Telegraph
Shoplifting epidemic rockets to 17,000 thefts a day
Britain's shoplifting epidemic has surged to a record high as crime rates at corner shops rose to hit almost 17,000 incidents a day. Shoplifting incidents cost corner shops £316m last year, according to the Association of Convenience Stores (ACS), with 6.2m thefts recorded, up from 5.6m the prior year. Stores also faced more than 59,000 incidents of violence and 1.2m incidents of verbal abuse. James Lowman, chief executive of the ACS, said: 'The levels of theft, abuse and violence experienced by retailers over the last year makes for shocking reading, but it will not surprise our members who are living it on a daily basis. 'Criminals targeting local shops without fear of reproach cannot be allowed to continue.' It comes as the Government prepares to clamp down on anti-social behaviour with its new Crime and Policing Bill. Under the Bill, which is currently passing through Parliament, the Government is reversing the so-called shoplifters' charter which effectively decriminalised thefts of items worth less than £200. It is also making it a standalone offence to assault a shop worker. ACS said the laws marked a 'long-overdue turning point on retail crime'. The industry group's annual crime report revealed that 45pc of shop thieves were repeat offenders. It said the items which were most commonly stolen were alcohol, meat and confectionery. Retailers have been spending heavily to try to keep a lid on crime rates. In total, convenience stores spent £265m on efforts to stop crime over the last year, including installing more CCTV, giving staff body cameras and putting perspex screens in place. The ACS said store owners were increasingly realising that 'equipment deployed in stores is only as effective as the individuals operating it'. It said corner shops were spending more on training their staff how to use crime prevention equipment. It comes amid a wider spending push across retailers to stop crime in stores. Over the weekend, it emerged that supermarket giant Tesco was trialling new trolley scales to check people were paying for everything they had placed in their trolleys. Tesco said the technology was part of efforts to improve customers' shopping experience. Other supermarkets have been investing in more high-tech checkouts to stem thefts. Co-op last year said it was adding artificial intelligence (AI) technology in its convenience stores to help monitor what customers were scanning through.
