Last year over 40,000 shoplifting offences were recorded in Scotland; the highest number in a decade, double the figure from 2021, and up a third since last year.
Despite record investment in theft prevention by businesses, the cases of shoplifting are soaring. Even so, this is only a snapshot of the reality, as so many businesses are no longer reporting these crimes because their faith in a response from police is so low.
Shoplifting is now costing businesses – and by extension the public finances – tens of millions of pounds. The Scottish Grocers’ Federation alone estimates that convenience stores lost £62.9m in theft and a survey conducted within the group found that almost all respondents described shoplifting as a daily occurrence. A former president of the SGF told The Times that his store lost over £10,000 annually in theft.
Retail business owners must despair at commentators in the media who frequently use shoplifting as an example of a lesser, petty crime. Those who do so are appeasing criminals and contributing to the menace this is for hardworking business owners and staff. Likewise, serial thieves who are in prison for repeated shoplifting offences are often judged to be criminals not worth keeping in prison. They are therefore the group who most benefit from schemes that seek to reduce the number of people getting short jail sentences. Of course, not all criminals need to be sent to prison, but there must be a better balance and a recognition that this is a serious crime like any other.
The claim that the crime is victimless collapses under very little scrutiny. Confronting suspected shoplifters is one of the main factors that lead to the abuse, threats and aggression towards staff, taking a significant toll on their mental wellbeing. Likewise, the major annual expense sustained by shop owners means higher costs for consumers and - if the store closes because of sustained financial losses - job losses and depriving communities of their local assets.
The public want us to be far tougher on crime; they overwhelmingly supported the crackdown on rioters over the summer which led to severe sentences being handed down to perpetrators. However, they also expect these to be applied universally and fairly across the board.
The number of Police officers in Scotland are at a 17-year low, just as the number of crimes across many areas are drastically increasing. When you speak to businesses one of the most frequently mentioned concerns at present is the rise of shoplifting offences which are costing them eye-watering sums of money.
Shoplifting is a serious crime, and it is high time that we start treating it as such.
