Shoplifting in Scotland rocketed last year amid fears the cost-of-living crisis is pushing desperate people to resort to stealing.
Crime stats published by the Scottish Government show 24,877 incidents were logged by police in the year ending June 2022 - a rise of 18 per cent on the previous 12 months.
The figures, uncovered by 1919 magazine, are the equivalent to 68 thefts a day and buck a longer-term trend of decline as the annual figure had been falling year-on-year since 2018, when 32,122 crimes were recorded.