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<p>The Government recognises the significant impact shoplifting has on businesses,
communities and consumers. The Crime Survey for England and Wales shows neighbourhood
crime is down 51% compared to findings from the year ending March 2010.</p><p>However,
Police Recorded Crime figures show shoplifting offences increased by 25% in the 12
months to June 2023. Statistics also show the number of people charged with shoplifting
offences has risen by 29% in the year ending June 2023.</p><p>We have recently made
significant steps to improve the police response to retail crime, including shoplifting.</p><p>In
October, the National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) published the <a href="https://gbr01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fnews.npcc.police.uk%2Fresources%2Fe6e5n-gfsgg-qru39-qjnkc-dbait&data=05%7C02%7CRebecca.Khosla2%40homeoffice.gov.uk%7C2866bb4a3f554fdf3e4208dc014e95e9%7Cf24d93ecb2914192a08af182245945c2%7C0%7C0%7C638386684221640764%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000%7C%7C%7C&sdata=k3DpuJZSdEOv4zGEcy3P7WC8Cajku%2F9%2BKH6vpSTM2Y4%3D&reserved=0"
target="_blank">Retail Crime Action Plan</a>. Through this Plan, all forces across
England and Wales have committed to prioritise police attendance at the scene where
violence has been used towards shop staff, where an offender has been detained by
store security, and where evidence needs to be secured and can only be done by police
personnel. Additionally, where CCTV or other digital images are secured, police will
run this through the Police National Database to aid efforts to identify prolific
offenders or potentially dangerous individuals.</p><p>This builds on the NPCC commitment
that police forces across England and Wales will follow up all crimes where there
is actionable evidence and the chance of identifying an offender, including shoplifting.</p><p>October
also saw the launch of Pegasus, a unique private-public partnership, which involves
retailers providing data, intelligence and evidence to Opal, the national police intelligence
unit on organised acquisitive crime, to develop a better strategic picture and help
forces crack down on serious offenders.</p><p>The Government is clear that violent
and abusive behaviour towards any worker, particularly those who provide a valuable
service to the public, is never acceptable.</p><p>In 2022 we took the significant
step to introduce a statutory aggravating factor for assault against those who are
serving the public. Section 156 of the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act 2022
means the public facing nature of a victim’s role will be considered an aggravating
factor when it comes to sentencing for assault offences, allowing the court to give
a longer sentence within the statutory maximum for the offence.</p><p>The Government
also continues to work closely with retail businesses, security representatives, trade
associations and policing through the National Retail Crime Steering Group (NRCSG)
to ensure the response to retail crime is as robust as it can be.</p><p> </p>
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