Shoplifting increases as cost-of-living crisis makes people 'more and more desperate'
Shoplifting offences recorded by West Mercia Police have increased as people continue to grapple with the cost-of-living crisis, figures show.
Data taken from the force that serves Shropshire has shown that 2,973 shoplifting offences were recorded between April 1 and August 31 this year.
This was a rise of 30.7 per cent on the year before – with 2,274 shoplifting offences logged during the same period in 2021.
However, thefts remain below pre-pandemic figures, with 3,449 thefts recorded from shops over the five-month period in 2019.
It comes as much of 2022 has been dominated by surging inflation, rising food prices and soaring energy bills.
Many households across the UK have subsequently been reassessing how they are going to pay the bills.
The cost-of-living crisis has been exacerbated by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February, which escalated food and energy prices across the globe.
In response to rising wholesale gas prices, Ofgem raised the energy price cap for the typical UK household by more than 50 per cent on April 1, before putting it up again at the start of October.
And some major supermarkets reported that they were boosting security due to fears of an increase in shoplifting as household bills rose.
Sabine Goodwin, coordinator of the Independent Food Aid Network, which comprises independent food banks across the UK, said people are becoming “more and more desperate” as the cost-of-living crisis exacerbates pre-existing poverty in Britain.
“People are being faced with impossible choices as food insecurity spirals out of control,” she said.
“The solution is for the Government to ensure there are direct one-off payments through this winter as well as the adequacy of social security payments and wages.”
But the British Retail Consortium, which represents retailers in the UK including big-name food stores, said shoplifting remains a “significant” burden, costing retailers £663 million in 2020 to 2021.
Tom Ironside, BRC director of business and regulation, said police-recorded crimes do not represent the whole picture as some staff are reluctant to report incidents due to “a lack of police response”.
“It’s not just the financial cost of theft which is important, customers and store staff can be left traumatised by such incidents, particularly where violence is involved,” he added.
