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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 32% in the 12
months to September 2023. Statistics also show the number of people charged with shoplifting
offences has risen by 34% in the year ending September 2023, showing that police are
taking action.</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. We have recently made significant steps to improve the police response
to retail crime, including shoplifting and violence and abuse against retail workers.</p><p>In
October 2023, 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>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>We are continuing 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, including shoplifting, is as robust as it can be.</p><p>
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