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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 48% compared to findings from the year ending March 2010.</p><p>However,
Police Recorded Crime figures show shoplifting offences increased by 37% in the 12
months to December 2023. Statistics also show the number of people charged with shoplifting
offences has risen by 46% in the year ending December 2023, showing that police are
taking action.</p><p>We have recently taken significant steps nationally to improve
the police response to retail crime, including shoplifting, and these are being implemented
in all police forces across England and Wales.</p><p>The Government’s plan – <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/fighting-retail-crime-more-action"
target="_blank">"Fighting retail crime: more action"</a> was launched on
10 April, which highlights five areas of work this Government will drive forward to
tackle retail crime:</p><ul><li>Introducing a standalone offence for assaults on retail
workers;</li><li>Additional electronic monitoring for prolific shoplifters;</li><li>Working
with police and businesses to roll out the latest facial recognition to catch these
perpetrators;</li><li>Championing good practice to design out crime; and</li><li>Making
it easier for retailers to report crime.</li></ul><p>We will bring forward legislative
changes to introduce a presumption towards electronic monitoring as part of a sentence
served in the community for those who repeatedly steal from shops. This legislative
change will provide that on the third sentencing occasion, an offender would be electronically
monitored as part of any community sentence or post-release for the duration of any
licence period.</p><p>The Government’s plan builds on the National Police Chiefs’
Council’s (NPCC) <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>We are continuing to work closely with
retail businesses, security representatives, trade associations and policing through
the National Retail Crime Steering Group (NRCSG), which meets on a quarterly basis,
to ensure the response to retail crime, including shoplifting, is as robust as it
can be.</p>
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