The number of shop thefts recorded by the police has increased by 5% on the previous year to 519,381 incidents.
The latest Crime Survey for England and Wales, published today (29th January 2026) by the Office for National Statistics, has shown that in the 12 months to September 2025, there were 519,381 recorded shop theft offences compared to 492,660 in the previous year. This 5% increase marks the first time in a number of years that the overall shop theft record has not been broken every quarter - the 12 month period to June 2025 retains this record at 529,994 shop theft offences.
Elsewhere in the survey, the number of robberies of business properties has risen sharply to 22,478 offences - an increase of 66% on the previous year. There was also a fall in the number of offences involving knives and sharp instruments of 9% to 50,430 offences compared to the previous year.
Figures from the 2025 ACS Crime Report show that there were over 6.2million incidents of theft recorded by convenience retailers alone over the last year, so there remains a significant gap between what is happening on the ground and what is being recorded by forces.
Association of Convenience Stores chief executive James Lowman said: “Tackling theft, abuse, robbery and other retail crime is a top priority for local shops, with over half a billion pounds spent in the last two years on crime prevention and detection measures. The official figures continue to highlight the challenges facing convenience stores, but they still pale in comparison to the reality faced by retailers and their colleagues.
"Significant positive steps have been made throughout the last year on increasing the visibility and accessibility of police forces in communities, and retailers tell us that their relationships with the police are improving. What we need now is a commitment throughout the justice system to break the cycle of reoffending."
Crime and Policing Minister Sarah Jones said: “I know readers are rightly tired of seeing brazen shop thieves operating on their high streets - a result of neighbourhood policing being slashed over ten years. That’s why this week we have set out major changes to policing which will put more neighbourhood police on our streets. The creation of a National Police Service to lift national responsibilities off local forces so they focus on fighting local crime.
“Today’s figures once again show shop theft is on the up, so we must do more. But there are positive signs too. The number of people charged has gone up by 21%, with one in five offences now leading to a charge. We are making sure officers have the right powers to tackle these crimes, and are bringing in a new offence of assaulting a retail worker and scrapping the £200 rule this is progress which we must build on. Street theft is down 4%, which also shows that our approach of restoring neighbourhood policing is beginning to work.
“By spring, 3,000 more neighbourhood officers and PCSOs will be in place, with almost 2,400 already in place by September last year. We are investing in over £140 million to roll out technologies to free up these officers’ time, with AI to be rolled out to all forces to cut desk work meaning more police on the streets fighting crime and catching criminals."
ACS will be launching its 2026 Crime Report on 18th March at the Safe and Responsible Retailing Conference in Birmingham. More information about the event is available here
The full release from the ONS is available here.
