Retail crime is at the highest level on record with losses reaching £2.2 billion in 2023 – 2024, according to the British Retail Consortium’s (BRC) Annual Crime Survey.

The organisation found that the number of violent or abusive incidents climbed to over 2,000 per day compared to 1,300 the previous year. This is more than three times the level in 2020 when it was 455 incidents per day.

The survey found that incidents included racial or sexual abuse, physical assault or threats with weapons. There were around 70 incidents per day which involved a weapon, more than double the previous year.

Incidents of theft hit an all-time high of over 20 million incidents, which is over 55,000 per day.

The BRC said that many of these incidents are linked to organised crime and gangs systematically target stores across the country, steeling thousands of pounds worth of goods.

As a result, the amount spent on crime prevention has also risen. The survey found that retailers have invested around £1.8 billion on measures including CCTV, anti-theft devices, and body cameras, an increase from £1.2 billion the previous year.

The BRC said this takes the total cost of crime to an “eye-watering” £4.2 billion, up from £3.3 billion. It warned that this adds to the wider cost pressures retailers already face, further limiting investment and pushing up prices for customers everywhere.

Earlier this month, clothing retailer Primark announced its biggest ever investment in anti-theft technology, while the Lincolnshire Co-op announced plans to roll out body cameras across its 99 food stores and 44 pharmacies as part of a £200,000 investment in November last year.

The survey found that satisfaction with the police remains low, with 61 per cent of respondents describing the police response to incidents as ‘poor’ or ‘very poor’.

Helen Dickinson, chief executive of the BRC, said that retail crime is “spiralling out of control”, calling on the police to respond and handle every reported incident appropriately.

“People in retail have been spat on, racially abused, and threatened with machetes. Every day this continues, criminals are getting bolder and more aggressive,” Dickinson added. “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.”

She continued: “We look forward to seeing crucial legislation to protect retail workers being put in place later this year. Only if the industry, Government and police work together, can we finally see this awful trend reverse.”

In November last year, an inquiry by the House of Lords found that shoplifting is an underreported crime that has reached “unacceptable” levels, with devastating impacts on the retail sector and wider economy.

During the last Autumn Budget announcement, chancellor Rachel Reeves announced that the government plans to put forward more funding to address the growing problem of shoplifting.

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