Shoplifting incidents from retail outlets in England and Wales have soared 33% to their highest level in two decades, ONS data revealed.
Against the backdrop of the cost of living crisis, with household budgets squeezed and shop prices soaring, more than 400,000 shoplifting-related offences were recorded in the year leading up to September 2023, up from nearly 305,000 incidents recorded the year before.
It is the first time the figure has surpassed the 400,000 mark since the current records began in 2002/03.
Catherine Grant from the ONS highlighted a "mixed picture of crime," with notable increases in theft offences, including shoplifting and motor vehicle robberies.
Several retailers and organisations spent parts of 2023 calling for additional support for battling the crime, with supermarkets and convenience stores some of the worst hit.
The British Retail Consortium estimates the annual cost of shoplifting to be around £1 billion after retailers reported as many as eight million incidents in 2022 alone.
In October, police started to crack down on shoplifting, particularly offences by organised crime gangs.
John Lewis Partnership, Tesco PLC (LSE:TSCO), J Sainsbury PLC (LSE:SBRY), Waitrose, Coop and other retailers helped fund a new police division, aimed at tackling shoplifting groups, through a £600,000 investment.
However, Marks and Spencer Group PLC (LSE:MKS) chairman Archie Norman argued that individuals taking chances at self-checkout counters and other opportunists are also to blame.
“Some of it is by gangs or people stealing to fuel a drugs habit,” he said on an LBC podcast on Tuesday. “No doubt that's probably increased a bit, it's always been there."