A new report published on Thursday by the British Association of Convenience Stores (ACS) says the cost of living crisis in the UK is fueling a surge in shoplifting.
Data from ACS recorded more than 1.1 million shoplifting incidents recorded at stores throughout Britain over the last year. That marks the highest levels of theft seen in a decade, and is a significant jump over the 970,000 seen one year prior. The items most commonly seen stolen were meat, alcohol, and sweets, which are all items which are normally considered high-value and capable of being resold.
The chief executive at ACS, James Lowman, call the amount of daily theft being seen throughout the country, “unprecedented.”
He said, “Repeat offenders, known to the community and known to the police, are stealing without fear of reproach.”
Representing smaller retailers across Britain, ACS estimated that over the past year, shoplifting has cost retailers £125 million ($159 million) or roughly £2,574 per store.
Some of the theft was attributed to an increase in activity by criminal gangs, as well as drug addicts stealing to gain the money to fuel their drug or alcohol habits.
Of those surveyed, 79% attributed the rise in thefts to the cost of living crisis, which has seen growing numbers of people unable to afford basic necessities, as the prices of goods continues to rise.
The ACS report comes on the heels of the official figures on inflation which were released Wednesday, showing that in the UK, inflation in May came in at 8.7%. The number was unchanged since the previous month, which had been the first time it fell to single digits since the summer of 2022.
Last month grocery inflation fell from its 45 year high of 19.1% in April, to 18.3% in May, with the cost of food rising 0.9% in May alone.
Recently the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), based out of Paris, forecasted that this year, the UK will have among the highest inflation rates of any major developed economy.
Conducted between the 13th of February and March 31st, the ACS survey’s calculations were calculated based upon criminal acts committed upon retailers over the previous 12 months.
