The number of shoplifting offences recorded by police in England and Wales has risen to a new 20-year high.
A total of 469,788 offences were logged by forces in the year to June 2024, up 29% on the 365,173 recorded in the previous 12 months.
The figure is the highest since current records began in the year to March 2003, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS).
Shoplifting levels had already reached a 20-year high earlier this year, with the latest figures showing the number of offences recorded has now risen even higher.
The figures also show the number of offences involving theft from a person stood at 139,368 in the 12 months to June, up 20% from 116,312 a year earlier.
The data published on Thursday comes in the wake of major retailers raising concerns about the rising cost of theft and as the Government vowed to tackle low-level shoplifting and make assaulting a shop worker a specific criminal offence.
The move to create a separate offence follows a long-running campaign from business owners and Conservative backbencher Matt Vickers amid rising violence against retail workers.
Retailers said they hope the measures set out in the King’s Speech to Parliament earlier this year after Labour won the election will make it easier for police to investigate and prosecute criminals.
