LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM - 2023/08/09: Police officers guard JD Sports on Oxford Street. A social media post reportedly organised a mass shoplifting event in the busy shopping street in central London, with police arresting and clashing with several young people outside shops during the day. (Photo by Vuk Valcic/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)

LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM - 2023/08/09: Police officers guard JD Sports on Oxford Street. A social media post reportedly organised a mass shoplifting event in the busy shopping street in central London, with police arresting and clashing with several young people outside shops during the day. (Photo by Vuk Valcic/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images) © SOPA Images, SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images Britain is in a "shoplifting epidemic" (Ed - It's not catching is it? No. It's a very small number of criminals doing more and more stealing as they're not being stopped) as nearly 290,000 shoplifting cases remained unsolved in 2024-25, as per an analysis by the House of Commons library. The data revealed that 55.5% of investigations in England and Wales failed to identify a suspect, while only 18.3% led to a charge.

A total of 289,464 cases were closed with no suspect identified across forces in England and Wales in 2024-25, a rise from 245,337 in 2023-24. The analysis, conducted for the Liberal Democrats, suggests that on average, 793 offences went unsolved each day.

The data covered all territorial police forces in England and Wales, excluding Humberside, and also included the British Transport Police. The Metropolitan Police had the poorest record, with 76.9% of its 93,705 shoplifting cases closed without identifying a suspect and just 5.9% resulting in a charge.

CRIME Figures CRIME Figures © PA Graphics/Press Association Images Official figures released last month showed that the number of shoplifting offences recorded by police in England and Wales reached a record high last year. Some 530,643 offences were reported in 2024-25, a 20% increase from 444,022 in 2023-24, marking the highest total since current police recording practices began in 2002-03.

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PA Media Hundreds of town centres to see more police patrols in crime ‘blitz’ Liberal Democrat MP Joshua Reynolds commented: "These shameful figures show that the police are failing to crack down on the shoplifting epidemic facing our country."

Earlier this month, Thames Valley Police and Crime Commissioner Matthew Barber suggested that shoppers should intervene if they noticed someone stealing.

Speaking to BBC Radio Berkshire, he clarified that he wasn't proposing the public should take on the role of the police in tackling shoplifting.

However, he suggested they could report it to the police or staff, capture it on their mobile phones, shout at the thief and "some people will feel able to physically intervene".

Maidenhead MP Mr Reynolds criticised: "The suggestion by a Conservative police chief that it's up to the public to stop shoplifters was both reckless and dangerous.

"I've worked in retail so I know what it feels like to have to confront shoplifters – it's frightening and it's dangerous."

Retail chiefs have previously sounded the alarm that shop theft is spiralling out of control, calling for immediate action as ministers have promised thousands more officers for neighbourhood policing by next spring.

ED - Just arrest the criminals and bring prosecutions. YOu don;t need more police. Get the ones from behind the desks back out where they used to be, on the street arresting criminals.