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The Association of Convenience Stores (ACS) has responded to the publication of the latest crime figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS), showing a record number of shoplifting offences in the year to September 2024.

The Crime Survey for England and Wales, published today, has shown that in the 12 months to September 2024, there were 492,914 recorded shoplifting offences, compared to 402,220 in the previous year - an increase of 23%.

The number of offences continues the trend of ONS crime outputs showing the highest ever recorded figures since current recording practices began in 2003.

Similarly, data from the ACS’ annual Voice of Local Shops survey, which tracks levels of theft in convenience, has shown theft has been increasing every quarter since mid-2021, reaching new record highs toward the end of 2023 and then breaking that record in the first half of 2024. It estimates that convenience retailers have recorded over 5.6million incidents of theft over the last year.

The news will perhaps not be all that surpsising to readers of Convenience Store. We have previously reported on countless incidents of shoplifting and the effects it has on communities and retailers, from Christmas thefts to blackmail, government crackdowns and even stores taking their own action

ACS chief executive, James Lowman, said: “These figures continue to be shocking, but still represent a fraction of what’s happening to retailers on a daily basis. Retailers and their colleagues are being attacked for challenging thieves that are then lost in the system because of a lack of police resources.

“Everyone involved in tackling shop theft needs to play their part to reverse this trend: retailers reporting crime every time, the police investigating every offence and identifying prolific repeat offenders and the courts applying effective penalties that aim to break the cycle of re-offending.”

Later this year, it is expected that the Crime and Policing Bill will be introduced, making it a separate offence to assault a shopworker. ACS has been calling for a complete reset on the perception of retail crime and especially shop theft, with an ambition to send a clear message that it is a crime that will be investigated.

More details on the Crime Survey for England and Wales are available here.