At the end of January the British Retail Consortium published its Annual Retail Crime Survey, the latest in a series dating back around two decades. Once again, according to the organisation, it showed violence, abuse and theft spiralling upwards.
Violence and abuse rose over 50% in the past year and 340% since 2020, at which time there were around 455 incidents per day. The figures indicate that the UK is now at over 2,000 incidents every single day, which is the highest rate ever recorded in the crime survey. Most seriously, 70 incidents per day involved a weapon, more than double the previous year.
The financial impact of retail crime must also not be ignored. The total cost of retail crime including crime prevention now sits at £4.2 billion, of which £2.2 billion is a direct result of customer theft.
There were over 20 million incidents of theft last year – 55,000 incidents per day – which compares to 16 million the previous year. We’ve noticed that theft and violence have become increasingly interlinked, with confronting thieves a major trigger of violence and abuse. Alongside this, our members have reported that organised crime has been on the rise for some time, with retailers telling us that we are seeing the same gangs systematically targeting multiple stores up and down the country.
As incidents rise, retailers have spent a record £1.8 billion on crime prevention measures in just one year, up from £1.2bn in last year’s survey. The £4.2 billion cost of crime adds to manifold pressures retailers already face, limiting funds that could be used to bring down prices or invest in the shopping experience for customers.
According to the BRC, retailers cannot prevent crime alone. For years, there has been a need for greater police action. Last year saw important progress, with the publication of the Retail Crime Action Plan and the collaboration on Project Pegasus. The BRC expects to see the impact of these initiatives in its findings next year.
At the same time, the organisation stresses that retailers need to be better at reporting incidents and also need the police to respond to and handle reported incidents appropriately. There is much further to go to achieve this outcome.
The government has pledged to introduce a new Standalone Offence in the Policing and Crime Bill details of which are not yet available, but looking forward to its release, the BRC holds the hope that it will apply to all working in customer facing roles in the industry, including delivery drivers, who are also subject to violent confrontations in their day to day.
The government has also promised more community police officers, recently announcing that it will be investing £200million in community policing. The Consortium now urges all stakeholders to now ensure that all this progress leads to tangible results and that the number of incidents begins to fall.
John Unsworth, Director for Crime and Intelligence at Mitie said, “Today’s report is clear that real progress in tackling retail crime happens when industry, law enforcement and government work together, not in silos. As the UK’s leading intelligence‑led security provider, Mitie is already supporting policing efforts with insights generated through advanced monitoring and analytics technologies, and by strengthening collaboration between forces and retailers through initiatives such as Pegasus. Since its launch in 2024, the Pegasus partnership has identified 395 offenders responsible for £9 million in retail losses. These joint efforts are making a meaningful difference to the safety of retail workers and helping to turn the tide on organised retail crime.
“But there is more to do. To lock in this momentum for the long term, continued investment in intelligence‑led technology and data‑sharing, alongside harnessing specialist private sector support, will be essential. The Tackling Retail Crime Together strategy provides a clear framework for a more unified response and it is vital that all partners now get behind it to deliver sustained, positive impact. By working together, we can create safer communities for everyone to live, work and shop.”
