Incidents of shoplifting have increased by 12% across London this year alone, according to new Met Police data.
According to the Met’s monthly crime database, a total of 99,363 shoplifting offences were logged in the 12 months running up to December.
It comes as retailers and shop assistants brace for the Christmas and New Year shopping rush, which is often the peak period for shoplifting.
The recent increase in shoplifting incidents, which is reportedly costing retailers around £16.7 million a month, comes as London police launched a major crackdown on petty crime.
Last month, 100 additional officers were deployed to London’s West End to tackle offences including shoplifting and phone theft.
“We're doubling down before Christmas, as the West End enters one of its busiest periods,” said Superintendent Natasha Evans at the time. “Local officers, specialist teams, and tech such as Live Facial Recognition will focus on the areas with the most crime to keep driving numbers down.”
So what parts of London are seen as shoplifting hotspots according to the data in 2025?
1. Westminster
According to the monthly crime data from January 2025 to November 2025, there were 7,150 instances of shoplifting recorded in the borough of Westminster.
Home to Oxford Street, the busiest shopping strip in Europe, it comes as no surprise that incidents of shoplifting are highest in this area.
There are almost 300 stores on Oxford Street, including several prominent flagship retailers such as Selfridges.
2. Newham
Newham is the second-most prevalent borough in the capital for shoplifting, with 4,485 incidents recorded between January and November 2025.
Home to Westfield Stratford, it’s yet another shopping hotspot which helps explain its ranking in this list.
3. Camden
At least 3,901 shoplifting incidents happened in Camden this year, home to the thriving Camden markets among other retail hotspots.
However, it wasn’t the most common type of theft in the area. There were also 6,908 reports of theft from person and 891 bike thefts.
4. Lambeth
Lambeth came in fourth for shoplifting rates between January and November 2025, with the Met Police recording 3,194 cases.
Home to thriving shopping areas such as Brixton, Streatham, and Clapham, shoplifting here was up 10% compared to the previous year.
5. Islington
Just next to Camden, Islington also recorded 3,043 shoplifting incidents in the first 11 months of this year.
There were also 780 bike thefts reported to the Met Police during this time.
