Theft and violence in UK retail soar to record levels, survey shows

By James Davey

LONDON (Reuters) - Theft and violence against retail workers in Britain soared to record levels last year and are "out of control", driven partly by criminal gangs, according to a report published on Thursday.

Industry body the British Retail Consortium's (BRC) annual crime survey found more than 20 million incidents of theft were committed in the year to Aug. 31, 2024, which equates to 55,000 a day, costing retailers a total 2.2 billion pounds ($2.7 billion).

There were 16 million incidents in the previous year.

The BRC said many more incidents in the latest period were linked to organised crime, with gangs systematically targeting stores across the country.

Incidents of violence and abuse in 2023/24 climbed to over 2,000 per day, up from 1,300 the year before.

"Retail crime is spiralling out of control. People in retail have been spat on, racially abused, and threatened with machetes. Every day this continues, criminals are getting bolder and more aggressive," said Helen Dickinson, head of the BRC.

Satisfaction with the police response to incidents remains low, with 61% of respondents describing it as "poor" or "very poor", the report showed.

"With little faith in police attendance, it is no wonder criminals feel they have a licence to steal, threaten, assault and abuse," said Dickinson.

The BRC said the amount spent on crime prevention also hit a record high, with retailers investing 1.8 billion pounds on measures such as CCTV, security personnel, anti-theft devices and body-worn cameras, up from 1.2 billion pounds in 2022/23.

The new Labour government has pledged to address the rise in retail crime through stronger measures to tackle shoplifting and anti-social behaviour. It also plans to introduce a standalone offence for assaulting a retail worker.

The issue of theft and violence has been raised by many of Britain's biggest retailers over the last year, including Tesco, John Lewis and Primark, echoing similar reports in the United States and elsewhere.

($1 = 0.8064 pounds)

(Reporting by James Davey; Editing by Gareth Jones)