Retail crime and shoplifting in the UK and how CCTV is combatting it

 

The state of shoplifting in the UK

Increase in shoplifting and retail crime

Police response to retail crime

The impact of crime on retail staff

Organised retail crime

Why people commit retail crime

Forceful behaviour

The cost of retail crime

The effect of crime on retail workers

The fight against retail crime

Regional collaboration against retail crime

Pegasus initiative

Tackling crime on retail premises

CCTV security and retail crime

CCTV and AI technologies to combat crime

CCTV installation

Intruder alarms

SSAIB accreditation

Contact us for CCTV and intruder alarms

 

Retail crime and shoplifting in the UK and how CCTV is combatting it

 

The prevalence and increase of shoplifting and retail crime has been hitting the media headlines, especially in recent months. Customer theft is the biggest source of financial loss and retail crime.

There are security measures that can be taken, including CCTV, which provides a deterrent to crime and protection of your business and profits. You can read more about CCTV below and how it’s become a major factor in fighting retail crime.

The state of shoplifting in the UK

Latest reports and statistics show that shoplifting in the retail sector is out of control, with an increase in shoplifting crimes, abuse and violence sweeping across the country.

Shoplifters are getting more and more brazen, and in some cases violent, because it is perceived that they can do what they want without any prosecution and consequences.

New figures released by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) reveal that shoplifting has surged to a record high since records began, with nearly half a million offences recorded in 2024.

More broadly, the ONS said its latest crime survey indicated a 12% rise in crime incidents – including theft, robbery, criminal damage, violence and fraud – over the past year, with an estimated 9.5 million incidents.

Increase in shoplifting and retail crime

There were 492,914 shoplifting offences recorded by police in the year to September 2024, an increase of an incredible 23% which is nearly a quarter. This equates to a shocking 1,350 retail crimes every day.

The British Retail Consortium (BRC), which represents more than 200 major UK retailers, has published their crime report. The report reveals an alarming situation and highlights just how serious the problem of shoplifting, crime and abusive behaviour has reached.

• Retail crime has soared by a third in 2023-24 compared to 2020 levels.
• Over 2000 violent or abusive incidents per day – 737,000 per year.
• Over 25,000 incidents involving a weapon – up 180% from the previous year.
• Cost of retail crime, including crime prevention, £4.2 billion, up 0.9 billion on the previous year.
• Losses from theft is £2 billion – the highest figure ever recorded.
• Increase in theft rose from 16.7 million to 20.4 million.
• Crime prevention measures costs rose 52% in the last year to £1.8 billion.

 

These frightening figures show the growth of a large-scale problem that shoplifting and crime has impacted in the retail sector, combined with the violent and threatening behaviour towards shop staff.

Retail theft affects every size of business in the UK.

As well as the larger retailers, convenience stores and smaller, independent shopkeepers are also severely impacted with thousands of pounds worth of goods stolen every year. Some shops are the only retail store and link in small, rural communities.

Police response to retail crime

In addition to the overall increase in offences, retailers have expressed their dissatisfaction with the police response to retail crime.

The British Retail Consortium (BRC) noted that retailers estimated that they had reported over a third of incidents of violence and abuse – 171,608-  to the police in 2022/23, with an estimated 8% – 38,135 – resulting in a prosecution.

Of the prosecutions, 19,067 cases resulted in a conviction. Prior to 2021/22, over 50% of incidents were reported to police but fewer resulted in a prosecution.

The impact of crime on retail staff

There are over three million shopworkers in the UK who face intimidating and threatening behaviour, and experience incidents that can leave them fearful, traumatised and leaving their jobs altogether.

Every day, retail staff find themselves in a threatening situation which they should not have to deal with at their place of employment. There may not be adequate security back-up to deal with the crime being committed on the premises.

The BRC survey highlighted that some shoplifters taunt shop staff because they know that they cannot be stopped, and that there is no fear of repercussions. There is also an increase in anti-social behaviour.

Top triggers for abusive behaviour are enforcing the law on age-restricted products and refusing to serve customers who are intoxicated.

Organised retail crime

In parallel, organised crime is increasing, noticeably in the past year, with gangs systematically targeting stores across the country, stealing tens of thousands of pounds worth of goods and rotating around multiple stores, the BRC’s survey found.

Why people commit retail crime

The Association of Convenience Stores 2024 Crime Report https://www.acs.org.uk/research/crime-report-2024

revealed that the main motivations for repeat shoplifting crimes are:

• Drug or alcohol additions
• Organised crime
• Opportunism

Another key driver for theft is the cost-of-living crisis, as people cannot afford to buy food and necessities.

Forceful behaviour

The way shoplifting and crime in shops is carried out can also be shocking and out of control.

‘Kamikaze’ shoplifting is a frightening and growing trend. This is when offenders are openly clearing shelves of items in full view of customers and shop workers without caring about the consequences.

Excess force may be used in extreme cases, including ramraids using vehicles, staff being threatened with weapons or destroying shop fittings and display units to get to and seize goods.

The cost of retail crime

The Association of Convenience Stores published their 2025 Crime report, and key findings include:

• Crime cost retailers an estimated £316 million over the last year.
• Retailers have spent over £265 million on crime prevention and detection measures in their store over the last year.
• The cost of crime and investment in crime prevention amount to a 10p crime tax on every transaction in a convenience store.
• There were over 59,000 estimated incidents of violence in the convenience sector over the last year, and 1.2 million incidents of verbal abuse.
• 59% of retailers believe that incidents involving organised crime have increased over the last year.

Prolific and repeat shoplifting, especially high value goods, resale of stolen goods, the safety and isolation of shopworkers are all issues that are faced daily in stores up and down the country.

While the total number of retail crime incidents climbed, dissatisfaction with the police service has increased, with 60% of respondents describing the police response to incidents as either ‘poor’ or ‘very poor’.

Despite the level of aggressive, abusive and violent behaviour towards retail workers, the police have consistently ignored and devalued retail crime incidents which in turn fuels the reluctance in reporting incidents to the police because of their lack of response combined with no adequate consequences for offenders.

The effect of crime on retail workers

In October 2024, the Retail Trust, a charity supporting the retail industry in the UK, published the results of its survey of 1,240 retail workers. The survey details the experiences of retail employees and the impact of the threats, abuse and violence that they face by just doing their job.

The figures are staggering and support the out-of-control trend for shoplifting crime.  90% of retail workers and 95% of managers revealed that they have experienced customer abuse and that the level of aggression is increasing. 

Growing retail crime has also negatively impacted the wellbeing of retail workers. The survey found that 47% of respondents feared for their safety at work and 39% had considered leaving their jobs or the retail industry altogether `due to the rise in violent and abusive incidents’.

High levels of staff low morale, fear and lack of wellbeing will inevitably lead to problems with recruiting and retaining retail staff in the sector.

Sadly, retail workers are feeling that they have to put up with levels of abusive behaviour as part of their job and feel that they are working in an unsafe working environment.

Retail staff can experience mistrust of customers and expectations of bad behaviour, which may lead to them not wanting to engage so readily with customers. This reluctance to engage with customers ultimately goes against the ethos of retail work and giving the best customer service and assistance.

The fight against retail crime

But now the retail industry is fighting back in a multi-layered and collaborative approach.

The Retail Crime Forum has is established to tackle retail crime. It is a ministerial led meeting between government and representatives of the retail sector, police and security providers, trade associations, trade unions and experts.

The government intends to tackle retail crime, including new legislative commitments of an offence of assaulting a retail worker, and repealing Section 176 of the Anti-Social Behaviour, Police and Crime Act 2014 (which has allowed the perception of offenders that shop theft of goods under £200 will go unpunished).

Introduced in February 2025, the Crime and Policing Bill will introduce key Legislative Changes.

The below £200 shoplifting rule, introduced in 2014, defined a new category of ‘low-value shoplifting’ to describe the theft of goods worth under £200. This meant that police deprioritised enforcement, even in repeat cases or shoplifting crime organised by gangs.

The government is removing this £200 threshold for prosecuting low-value shoplifting, making it simpler to prosecute all shoplifting incidents and to treat shop theft more seriously.

A new specific offence of assaulting a retail worker is also under consideration and introduced. In response to data reporting an increase in the frequency and severity of violence and abuse experienced by retail workers, the retail sector has been campaigning for the creation of a new offence of assaulting a retail worker, which is currently law in Scotland.  

Having this bespoke offence will send the strongest of messages that this type of behaviour is not acceptable, and data on assaults against retail workers will be collected and can be used to influence police actions and responses.

Town centre banning orders for repeat offenders and funding to tackle organised crime will also be introduced.

The House of Lords Justice and Home Affairs Committee inquiry into shop theft during 2024 found that shop theft was seriously under-reported and not tackled and dealt with properly.

They made several recommendations including replacing the terminology in guidance and legislation from `shoplifting’ which trivialises the severity of the offence, to `shop theft’.

The Committee also recommended improving reporting systems so that crime is reported quickly and easily to the police, and retail crime data flagged in police, criminal and judicial systems so that the holistic picture of retail crime can be captured, monitored and effectively dealt with.

Regional collaboration against retail crime

Elsewhere in regional areas, police and retailers are collaborating and partnering to identify shoplifting and serious organised crime and other crime that is affecting the retail sector, developing solutions to tackle retail crime and improve business confidence in the police.

However, there is still a long way to go, including the confidence in the police and justice system to prosecute offenders and attend incidents that occur. The perception is that shoplifting is seen as a low-level, unimportant crime that can go unpunished, which in turns fuels retail crime because there are no consequences.

This will make shop owners and retail workers less confident, fearful and demotivated to report retail crimes because there are no repercussions for offenders .

Crime gangs and criminals have become more sophisticated and are evolving their techniques, therefore the retail industry must do the same to get ahead of the criminals and to help prevent crime.

Pegasus initiative

A new initiative called Pegasus is launched to address the rising shoplifting crime wave and its impact on retail employees, customers and the retail sector costs spent on crime prevention.

It is a partnership between retailers and the police in the UK, aimed at tackling all retail crime, particularly shoplifting. It focuses on improving information sharing between retailers and the police, so that intelligence is captured to target and track perpetrators, including organised crime gangs and their organised theft which is increasing exponentially.

Pegasus brings together a powerful combination of leading technology, highly skilled experts and shared information and data. The project will, for the first time, give an accurate national UK picture of the organised crime groups: from local families to cross border criminals that are driving organised retail theft.

As part of this initiative, big retailers have come together and are collaborating to deal with the shoplifting crime wave by sharing data and information, including Boots, John Lewis, Primark, M&S and Co-Op.

This collaborative approach and data gathering will build a holistic landscape and picture of retail crime across the UK. Combined anonymised date will highlight top hot spots, crime trends and patterns which can be mapped,  identified and passed to the police. Organised crime gangs that commit crime and on a regular basis, can be tracked across the UK.

Tackling crime on retail premises

Retailers are spending millions of pounds introducing and upgrading CCTV, security systems and technology. They are stepping up a gear to fight retail crime in-store and protect staff.

Security initiatives include providing staff with headsets to wear so they feel connected and in touch with each other. Staff can communicate quickly when incidents occur.

Body-worn cameras are becoming more widespread to film and deter perpetrators and capture video footage to use as evidence.   

CCTV security and retail crime

CCTV remains a significant deterrent to capture live, high quality video footage which is accessed via mobile devices and monitored and watched 24/7.

Combined with sophisticated AI tracking tools and AI face recognition technology to identify people and flag unusual or suspicious behaviour and actions, CCTV surveillance remains a powerful and effective crime-detecting combination. These technologies can alert staff to monitor specific areas, products or people more closely to deter potential crime.

Defensive merchandising is another popular method used to disrupt shoplifting. This method uses tagged branded stickers that show the original point of sale, and consequently makes the resale of stolen goods difficult, thus disrupting the stolen goods supply chain. Stolen items are also traced back to stores and recovered.

Other ways to fight crime is for incidents to be reported internally as well as to the police. Staff can be trained to use CCTV and access footage of incidents to submit as police evidence.

Retailers can also review their policies so they are more customer-friendly and used to de-escalate and avoid conflicts. Training retail staff on how to deal with disgruntled customers and giving managers adequate training so that they can deal with incidents adequately are all part of the fight against crime.

Clear indoor signage and messaging that abusive behaviour will not be tolerated are also displayed in stores and on shop premises, as well encouraging staff to report incidents and improving how reporting is done.

CCTV and AI technologies to combat crime

CCTV has always been a major deterrent against retail crime, and retail stores – large and small – are stepping up their CCTV surveillance and monitoring.

CCTV systems are set up to precise requirements and is available for all types of businesses and premises.

Combined with AI technology, CCTV is taken to another level. AI technology enables the identification and detection of criminals, facial features and suspicious behaviour. Objects and humans can be tagged and followed through a shop or store, so monitoring and surveillance becomes more detailed and proactive. Alerts are sent to security and staff when suspicious activity occurs or a known person of interest or criminal is on the premises.

CCTV cameras have integrated AI technology which give superior and more proactive monitoring.

Asda, the national supermarket chain, has recently launched a live AI trial of facial recognition CCTV technology in its stores to fight against increased shoplifting crimes and assaults on staff. The facial recognition technology is integrated into Asda’s existing CCTV network.

It doesn’t just have to be the large retail chains that can use AI to their advantage. Medium and small sized stores and retail outlets can benefit from AI technology too, enabling their security to be more proactive.

The AI facial recognition technology scans images of individuals’ faces and the mathematical data is compared to images on a database. A facial data match of a known criminal will instantly alert a central security hub. This increases the quality of surveillance and targeted monitoring to pinpoint people who repeatedly offend, so that security interventions can be quickly carried out, sometimes at the point of entry to the store.  

This in turn makes it safer for staff and customers and increases protection in stores. Read more about AI facial recognition technology.

CCTV installation

If you are having a CCTV installation, it’s important to get it installed properly otherwise it can be a waste of money and time. At Techcube, we are CCTV systems experts and have been installing CCTV for every type of business and residential customers since 2007.

There isn’t anything we don’t know about CCTV! We understand the latest CCTV technology, and how it can protect and defend you against unwanted crime.

We are suppliers of leading CCTV brands, including Adata, Axis, Bosch, Dahua and Hikvision, plus more; some of which we are official UK distributors for. See all of the CCTV brands we supply here.  (Link to brands page).

Every premises will vary. There will be shop floor areas, stock rooms and spaces, staff areas and various access points into and out of the store. A site survey for a CCTV installation will map out and plan the optimum coverage and the best position for CCTV cameras. Monitors can be used and fitted in-store and also in a back office for continual surveillance.

A CCTV site survey will also clarify and prioritise what needs to be monitored in the store, for instance, high value goods or all products, stock rooms and store areas, stairwells, and spaces that are behind the scenes and not always frequented. The front entrance and exit points will also need to be monitored.

At Techcube, all of our clients receive a free site survey of their premises for CCTV installation. We plan out the premises and advise on number, type and placement of CCTV cameras, the installation, cabling and WiFi options, digital recorders, monitors, remote access to video footage, cloud storage options and everything else. We can also integrate CCTV with EPOS systems for additional security.

Intruder alarms

Intruder alarms, combined with CCTV, is another invaluable security measure to use in the fight against crime. (Link to intruder alarms page).

Intruder alarms will be set off when a premises is broken into, or sensors detect activity, and sound a loud alarm. If the alarm system is connected to a security monitoring centre, where necessary, the Police will be notified.

Combined with CCTV, intruder alarms are a formidable security must-have for any business or resident.

Techcube provide intruder alarms that can be integrated with CCTV systems.

SSAIB accreditation

When considering installing CCTV and intruder alarms, choose a company like ours that has SSAIB registration and accreditation to ensure the highest quality security installation and standards.

Techcube is SSAIB registered and accredited for CCTV and intruder alarms. This means we have to demonstrate that we are capable of delivering quality security solutions. We do this through annual, comprehensive and thorough audits to meet technical and process requirements for security systems and services. Link to SSAIB accreditation.

We adhere to specific British and European standards related to security systems, using high quality products, our technical expertise and professional installation to stringent SSAIB standards.

SSAIB certification ensures any intruder alarm system we install with security monitoring meets the required standards for Police response.

Contact us for CCTV and intruder alarms

Techcube Limited are SSAIB accredited and provide the best in CCTV systems using high quality CCTV brands.

Contact our team to discuss how we can improve your retail and premises security and CCTV. 020 8586 1500. contact us

 

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