Nearly 300,000 unsolved shoplifting cases last year as more than half closed with no suspect found
Nearly 300,000 shoplifting cases went unsolved in 2024/25 with more than half closed without a suspect identified, new analysis has found.
Listen to this article
The figures showed 55.5% of investigations in England and Wales failed to identify a suspect, while just 18.3% resulted in a charge, according to House of Commons library research.
Some 289,464 cases were closed with no suspect across forces in England and Wales in 2024-25, up from 245,337 in 2023-24.
Read More: Spike in online hate crime prosecutions following Lucy Connolly conviction
The analysis produced for the Liberal Democrats suggests on average 793 offences a day went unsolved.
The data covered all territorial police forces in England and Wales except Humberside, along with the British Transport Police.
The Metropolitan Police had the worst record, with 76.9% of its 93,705 shoplifting cases closed with no suspect identified and just 5.9% resulting in a charge.
Official figures published last month for all forces showed the number of shoplifting offences recorded by police in England and Wales had climbed to a record high last year.
Some 530,643 offences were logged in 2024-25, up 20% from 444,022 in 2023-24 and the highest total since current police recording practices began in 2002-03.
Liberal Democrat MP Joshua Reynolds said: "These shameful figures show that the police are failing to crack down on the shoplifting epidemic facing our country."
Earlier this month, Thames Valley Police and Crime Commissioner Matthew Barber suggested shoppers should intervene if they spotted someone stealing.
He told BBC Radio Berkshire that he was not suggesting the public should tackle shoplifting instead of the police.
But he said they could report it to police or staff, film it on their mobile phone, shout at the thief and "some people will feel able to physically intervene".
Maidenhead MP Mr Reynolds said: "The suggestion by a Conservative police chief that it's up to the public to stop shoplifters was both reckless and dangerous.
"I've worked in retail so I know what it feels like to have to confront shoplifters - it's frightening and it's dangerous."
Retail bosses have previously warned that shop theft is spiralling out of control and that business owners need to see immediate results as ministers have pledged thousands more officers for neighbourhood policing by next spring.