Tesco, Sainsbury's, Asda warning as problem hits 'highest level on record'
Shoplifting offences in England and Wales is now at the highest level on record. One survey of shop workers found that more than a third wanted to leave their jobs or the retail industry because of an increase in violence and abuse.
469,788 offences were logged by police forces in the year to June 2024, a 29 per cent increase compared with the 365,173 recorded in the previous 12-month period. This is the highest number of shoplifting offences seen, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS).
The offences span everywhere from leading retailers like Tesco and Sainsbury's and Asda and Morrisons to the likes of convenience stores like the Co-op. Aldi, Lidl, Marks and Spencer or M&S, as well as Iceland, Waitrose and Ocado, are among the country's other leading retailers.
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It comes after Co-op said that organised criminals are behind some of the recent increase in shoplifting and violence, rather than people who are stealing to survive. Paul Gerrard, the public affairs director at the Co-op, told a House of Lords justice and home affairs committee that much of the rise in retail crime that the grocery chain has experienced was due to gangs stealing large amounts to order.
The Retail Trust charity found that almost half of 1,200 workers they surveyed fear for their safety, while more than a third want to leave their jobs or the retail industry because of the rise in violence and abuse. Chris Brook-Carter, the charity’s chief executive, said in a statement to the Guardian today: “The incidents we hear about every day are both horrifying and heartbreaking.
“People tell us they have been spat on, had products smashed up in front of them and been filmed on their phones by abusive shoppers who then threaten to post the footage on social media.”