LONDON, April 26 (Xinhua) -- Shoplifting and theft from individuals recorded in England and Wales have reached the highest level in two decades, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS).
The ONS Centre for Crime and Justice examined crime information for the year ending December 2023, using data from police-recorded crime and the Crime Survey for England and Wales.
Statistics showed that shoplifting offenses in the year ending December 2023 increased by 37 percent year-on-year to over 430,000, the highest since the current police recording practices began in 2003.
"Shoplifting is often a trigger for abuse or violence," said Neil Johnston, director of the Northern Ireland Retail Consortium, adding that the cost to prevent and deal with retail crime now is rather high.
Another survey released by the British Retail Consortium in February noted that the impact of the cost-of-living crisis has "changed the nature of shoplifting from one or two items to many."
According to the latest annual data on crime outcomes in England and Wales published by the UK's Home Office in June last year, in the year ending March 2023, over 54 percent of shoplifting offenses were closed due to no suspects having been identified in the year ending March 2023.
ONS data also showed that police-recorded theft from the person rose by 18 percent from 2022 to more than 125,500 offenses, a record high since the year of 2004. ■