Police-recorded shoplifting in England and Wales rose by 13% to 529,994 offences in the year to June 2025, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS), underscoring mounting concerns over retail crime and staff safety.

The ONS figures follow a separate update in July showing a 20% year-on-year rise for the year to March 2025, indicating theft remains at or near record levels.

Rising retail crime and why it matters

Retailers say the official count understates the true scale because many incidents go unreported.

The British Retail Consortium (BRC) estimates retail theft costs businesses about £2.2bn annually, while incidents of violence and abuse against retail workers average more than 2,000 a day.

“Retail theft is a major issue for retailers, costing over £2.2bn a year,” said Lucy Whing, the BRC’s crime policy adviser, adding that the ONS report “chimes with our own statistics which show shoplifting soaring in recent years.”

Whing said the causes are “manifold”, with a particular concern over organised retail crime, where “gangs [are] systematically hitting stores one after another, all over the country.”

Police and trade groups have also highlighted the role of repeat offenders and wider pressures on the criminal justice system.

Violence and abuse beyond the shop floor

Retailers and unions link theft to rising aggression towards staff.

“Theft is a major trigger for violence and abuse against staff,” Whing said, noting the BRC’s finding of more than 2,000 incidents a day. Abuse is not confined to stores.

A new Usdaw survey of more than 300 home-delivery drivers—mainly in the grocery sector—found 77% had been abused and 13% assaulted in the past year; over a quarter refused a delivery at some point due to safety concerns. Whing urged that any new legal protections should “include delivery drivers”.

Government’s crime and policing bill: what would change

Ministers have proposed a standalone offence of assaulting a retail worker, with a maximum penalty of six months’ imprisonment and/or an unlimited fine, alongside a presumption that courts consider criminal behaviour orders for convicted offenders.

The Crime and Policing Bill also seeks to remove the perceived £200 threshold for “low-level” shop theft by repealing Section 22A of the Magistrates’ Courts Act 1980—aimed at signalling that “all shoplifting is unacceptable and will not be tolerated,” as Whing put it. The bill has recently passed key debate stages and is moving through Parliament.

Whing said the reforms would “increase sentencing and improve the visibility of violence against retail workers so that police can allocate the necessary resources,” while calling on the government to ensure the final Act extends protections to delivery drivers.

Context from official statistics

The ONS reported a sustained post-pandemic rise in shoplifting and theft from the person, even as some other acquisitive crimes—such as burglary—have fallen.

In the year to June 2025, shoplifting rose to 529,994 offences, while theft from the person increased 5% to 145,860. Earlier, the ONS recorded 530,643 shoplifting offences in the year to March 2025, the highest level in two decades.

Retailers contend that improved reporting, organised criminality and the cost-of-living squeeze all play a role.