Whether it’s bank robberies, heists, or shoplifting, no criminal activity should be tolerated within any society, as these acts inflict shock, physical and mental trauma on their victims, whether on a short-term or long-term basis, depending on the severity of the crime and the victims’ ability to recover.
The 2023 annual report by the British Retail Consortium (BRC) has unveiled alarming statistics about shoplifting and attacks on retailers. It highlights that incidents of customer theft have risen to eight million per year, causing nearly £1 billion in losses. When accounting for crime prevention costs, the overall expense of retail crime is approaching £2 billion annually. This financial burden on retailers is likely to result in higher prices for consumers.
This article explores the common crimes and dangers that retailers in Britain encounter daily, as outlined in the newly published crime survey report by the BRC. The report identifies four significant challenges for retailers: Violence and Abuse, Customer Thefts, Fraud, and Cybercrime. Notably, violence and abuse emerge as the primary concern among retailers, as per the BRC survey findings.
Here’s an overview of some key statistics.
- In 2021-2022, there were 867 incidents of violence and abuse daily, totaling 316,000 incidents, which was down from the pandemic peak but higher than pre-pandemic levels. The decrease was due to reduced abuse incidents but increased violence incidents.
- Incidents of violence with injury rose to 29 per day, while violence without injury reached 116 per day, suggesting significant workplace harassment. These figures suggest that more than 10% of the workforce experienced some form of harassment.
- The total cost of monetary crime, including losses and prevention expenses, was just under £1.8 billion. This included £722 million for crime prevention and £1.04 billion in direct losses, with £953 million attributed to customer theft.
- Cyber Security costs were £151 million, and online fraud accounted for £30 million in losses due to the growth of online shopping.
- The primary concerns within cyber-crime include phishing, ransomware, and malware, each regarded as a high or medium risk by 90% of respondents.
- Retailers allocated £151 million to cyber-crime prevention, accounting for over 20% of the total expenditure on crime prevention, which is a higher percentage than in previous years.
Violence and Abuse Statistics
The BRC survey reveals a concerning rise in workplace violence and abuse in 2021-2022, with incidents per 1000 workers increasing to 105, up from 54 in 2019-2020 but slightly lower than the peak in 2020-2021. Shockingly, over 10% of shop workers experienced such incidents.
Total daily cases jumped from 455 to over 1300 between 2019-2020 and 2020-2021 but dropped to 867 in 2021-22. Violent incidents, including injuries, reached 145 per day, while abuse incidents surged to 722 per day, up from 341 pre-pandemic, happening mainly in retail parks and out-of-town areas.
Shoplifting is a significant factor in this rise, with a 25% increase in offenses nationally, totaling 339,206 cases in 12 months, costing retailers nearly £1 billion, in contrast to the BRC’s estimate of eight million annual incidents according to data from ONS (Office of National Statistics).
Shockingly, only 48,218 of the reported shoplifting incidents resulted in charges, representing a mere 14%. Meanwhile, 54% of the 183,450 investigations ended without identifying suspects, raising concerns about law enforcement’s perceived lack of seriousness in addressing this issue.
Regions with the most prevalent shoplifting incidents
According to Statista, England and Wales had an overall shoplifting rate of 5.7 offenses per 1,000 residents between 2022-2023. However, specific police force areas showed significant variations. Cleveland Police Force, in North East England, had the highest shoplifting rate at 13 incidents per 1,000 population, followed by Nottinghamshire at 10.9.
In contrast, Surrey’s Police Force Area had the lowest shoplifting rate at 3.3 offenses per 1,000 residents. Notably, despite Nottinghamshire’s high shoplifting rate, its overall crime rate remained slightly below the national average. This differed from Cleveland, which had the highest shoplifting and overall crime rates, while Surrey maintained one of the lowest overall crime rates.
Number of shoplifting offences in England and Wales from 2002/03 to 2022/23
Police Response to Shoplifting
The police response to shoplifting has seen a decline in reported violence and abuse incidents, with the percentage dropping from 57% to 32%. This resulted in about 100,000 reported incidents, down significantly from the previous year’s 270,000. Retailers often cited the belief that reporting wouldn’t yield results or found the reporting system too cumbersome as reasons for not reporting incidents.
Despite the decrease in reporting, the number of prosecutions increased to 22,000, up from 19,000 the previous year. However, only 7% of violence and abuse incidents resulted in prosecution, with just 1% treated as aggravated offenses. This low police response has led many retailers to seek alternative methods to combat shoplifting, effectively decriminalizing it in their stores.
So, what is the way forward?
Major UK retailers, including John Lewis, Co-Op, Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Waitrose, and Next, have joined forces to fund Project Pegasus, a police initiative aimed at tackling shoplifting. They will contribute around £600,000 to the project, which utilizes CCTV footage and facial recognition technology to gain insights into shoplifting operations. Katy Bourne, the Police and Crime Commissioner for Sussex, views Project Pegasus as a “game-changer” addressing the root causes of theft.
