Shoplifting soars by 133% in five years as retailers warn of increasingly 'brazen' thieves
The Met Police brought fewer charges than any other police force in the country
Shoplifting has soared by 133% in just five years, new figures have revealed amid warnings that store theft is becoming 'more organised and aggressive'.
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Police received 228,128 theft reports in 2020-21, jumping to 530,457 in 2020-21, according to data from the House of Commons Library.
Just 19.83 per cent of offences in 2024-25 resulted in a charge.
The worrying rise comes amid warnings from retailers that the government is failing to do enough to crack down on theft.
Marks & Spencer accused the government of failing to get a grip on the issue as attacks on its stores have become “more brazen, more organised and more aggressive”.
Bosses spoke out after hundreds of youths descended on one of its stores in Clapham as part of an online trend known as "link-ups".
Read more: Moment 'brazen' thief jailed after stealing 320 Creme Eggs in shoplifting spree
The Liberal Democrats, which analysed the figures, have called on the government to invest more in neighbourhood policing, including more staffed police front counters, to address the problem.
The Met Police charged fewer shoplifters than any other police force in the country, with less than 7% of reported cases leading to a charge. Durham Constabulary had the highest charge rate at 32.7%.
M&S store executives recently penned a letter to Sir Sadiq Khan, the Mayor of London, asking him to take more action to tackle the problem.
Data showed 8.64% shoplifted offences reported to the Met resulted in a charge in 2020-21. During the period to 2025/26 the number of shoplifting offences reported to the force tripled from 31,008 to 93,626.
Read more: M&S staff ‘worried’ about coming into work as boss issues plea to mayor following Clapham disorder
Read more: A mother and son tell Iain about their relationship in light of the Clapham link-ups
The Liberal Democrats warned the problem is battering small businesses under pressure from rising energy bills, national insurance increases and business rates.
Max Wilkinson, the Liberal Democrat home affairs spokesman, said retail workers had been "left to fend for themselves as hundreds of thousands of shoplifters get away scot-free".
"Our brilliant small businesses simply cannot afford for this to continue," he added.
Labour has committed to funding 13,000 new police officers by the end of the current Parliament.
The government's new crime and policing bill will seek to tackle shoplifting by scrapping the rule which treats stolen items with a value below £200 as minor summary offences.
It will also bring in a separate offence for the assault of retail workers and roll out respect orders banning repeat offenders from town centres.
The Met said this week it was determined to clamp down on shoplifting, stating it has arrested 44% more thieves while London saw a 3.2% drop in offences over the last year.