London shops lose record £15m of items due to shoplifting epidemic

Co-op shop security staff hold a door closed as people outside try to kick the door -

London shops lost a record £15 million of items due to a shoplifting epidemic sweeping across the capital.

Shoplifters are 20 per cent less likely to be arrested than they were a decade ago, a London Assembly Member has highlighted.

Figures show 67,062 shoplifting offences were recorded in the capital in 2023, making it the worst year for shoplifting on record in London.

So far 62,753 offences had already been recorded by October of 2024, meaning the record is set to be broken again by the end of the year.

The spike is in line with national shoplifting figures, which show that shoplifting has risen 30 per cent since the pandemic and the ensuing cost-of-living crisis.

Unmesh Desai, London Assembly Labour spokesperson for policing and crime, said: "Shoplifting in London and across London and the UK is a growing crisis affecting small retailers, shopworkers, and honest customers alike.

“With over 67,000 offences recorded in London last year—the worst on record—2024 is set to surpass this alarming trend.”

An Evening Standard investigation in January found shopping costs the capital £9.2m a month (Evening Standard)

The cost of shoplifting is predicted to be much higher than the value of the items stolen.

In January the Standard revealed that shoplifting is estimated to cost London £9.2 million every month, with figures showing a 48 per cent spike in offences.

Brazen thieves have burst into stores with wheelie bins, suitcases and holdalls to clear shelves of items. Staff who try to intervene are subjected to racist and sexist slurs, threats and violence.

One Co-op store in inner London was looted three times in one day by organised gangs.

The supermarket saw a record 1,325 physical assaults against store workers in 2023.

Mr Desai also highlighted how fewer than five per cent of shoplifters face arrest, down from 20 per cent a decade ago.

He added that low-value theft had been “decriminalised” under the previous Conservative Government, largely due to a change in the law which means the maximum sentence for people shoplifting items worth less than £200 is six months in custody.

Mr Desai continued: “Police resources have been stretched thin, attending just 24 per cent of cases compared to 55 per cent in 2015, while shoplifting has surged by 20 per cent in London since the pandemic and cost-of-living crisis.

“After 14 years of neglect and austerity, reversing course is essential.”