Retail crime in the UK is “spiralling out of control”, hitting its highest level on record, according to the British Retail Consortium (BRC). Theft alone is now costing retailers £2.2 billion a year and the crime prevention bill for stores is £1.8 billion.

New figures released Thursday (30 January) from the industry body’s Annual Crime Survey reveal the depths of the problem, with violence and abuse incidents in 2023/24 climbing to over 2,000 a day, up from 1,300 the year before. This is more than three times the 2020 level when there were 455 incidents a day, although lockdown would be a factor there. 

Incidents included racial or sexual abuse, physical assault or threats with weapons, with the latter adding up to 70 incidents a day, more than double the previous year.

Theft has reached an all-time high with over 20 million incidents (over 55,000 a day) costing retailers £2.2 billion in 2023/24 (up from £1.8 billion the previous year).

It noted many more incidents are linked to organised crime, with gangs systematically targeting stores across the country, “stealing tens of thousands of pounds worth of goods and rotating around multiple stores”.

“With the total number of incidents continuing to grow, and their nature becoming increasingly aggressive, satisfaction with the police remains low”, the report said, citing 61% of respondents describing the police response to incidents as ‘poor’ or ‘very poor’.

Of the remaining, 29% rated the response as ‘fair’, a further 6% said ‘good’, and 3% described it as ‘excellent’, the first time in five years that any retailers have rated it as such. 

Unsurprisingly, the amount spent on crime prevention is also at a record high, with retailers investing £1.8 billion on measures such as CCTV, more security personnel, anti-theft devices and body worn cameras, up from £1.2 billion the previous year.

This takes the total cost of crime to an eye-watering £4.2 billion, up from £3.3 billion. It adds to the wider cost pressures retailers already face, further limiting investment and pushing up prices for customers everywhere.

The report noted that the government has pledged to address the rise in retail crime through stronger measures to tackle shoplifting and anti-social behaviour, including removing the £200 threshold of ‘low level’ theft. It also announced in the King’s Speech it would introduce a standalone offence for assaulting a retail worker.

“Retailers will be looking closely at the details of the Crime and Policing Bill to ensure that its protections apply to all customer-facing retail workers, from those behind the till to delivery drivers”, the report said.

Helen Dickinson, BRC chief executive, said: “Every day this continues, criminals are getting bolder and more aggressive. We owe it to the three million hardworking people working in retail to bring the epidemic of crime to heel. No one should go to work in fear.

“With little faith in police attendance, it is no wonder criminals feel they have licence to steal, threaten, assault and abuse. Retailers are spending more than ever before, but they cannot prevent crime alone. We need the police to respond to and handle every reported incident appropriately.”

Chris Brook-Carter, chief executive of retail industry charity Retail Trust, added: “Almost half of the retail workers we’ve surveyed told us they currently fear for their safety and nearly two thirds are stressed and anxious going to work due to this unacceptable level of retail crime. People are contacting our helpline in their thousands to report horrifying incidents of abuse and violence and many say that they are now at breaking point.

“Retailers are taking the threat to their staff’s physical safety extremely seriously and more and more of them are working with the Retail Trust to reduce the terrible toll it is having on their people’s mental wellbeing. But stronger measures are clearly needed to prevent this criminal behaviour from happening in the first place.”