Police-recorded shoplifting in England and Wales has dipped after a long run of increases, and a new criminal offence of assaulting a retail worker is now on the statute book. This article sets out what the latest figures show, what the Crime and Policing Act 2026 does for shops, and what remains uncertain.
What do the latest ONS figures show on shoplifting?
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) published its crime bulletin for the year ending June 2026 on 22 October 2026. It recorded 519,516 shoplifting offences in England and Wales, down 2% from 530,336 in the previous year. The difference is 10,820 offences, which is about 2.0% of the earlier figure, so the rounding holds.
The ONS describes this as following a period of increases. It also cautions that the recent rises likely reflected both real growth in offences and better reporting, as police and retailers worked more closely together. It adds that reporting rates for shoplifting remain very low, and that police are encouraging victims to report all incidents and supply evidence such as CCTV.
A small dip, then, is not the same as a problem solved. The level is still close to the 516,971 offences the government’s retail crime factsheet cited for the year ending December 2024, which it described as the highest since the current Home Office counting rules began in 2002/03.
| Measure | Figure | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Shoplifting, year ending June 2026 | 519,516 | ONS |
| Shoplifting, year ending June 2025 | 530,336 | ONS |
| Change | Down 2% | ONS |
| Shoplifting, year ending December 2024 | 516,971 | Home Office factsheet, citing ONS |
Why should shops read a 2% fall cautiously?
Police-recorded crime measures what is reported and logged, not everything that happens. If more retailers report incidents, recorded numbers can rise even when underlying theft is steady. If retailers conclude that reporting leads nowhere, recorded numbers can fall even when theft is not.
The ONS’s own wording points both ways. It links the recent increases partly to genuine growth and partly to improved reporting. A 2% fall after that period is consistent with a plateau, with fewer incidents, or with some mix of the two. A single year’s movement cannot separate them.
For a shop owner, the practical reading is that the national trend is a backdrop rather than a forecast for one unit on one street. Footfall, shop layout, stock type and staffing levels matter far more to individual loss than a national change of a couple of percentage points.
The same ONS bulletin recorded theft from the person, such as pickpocketing and snatches, down 20% to 115,891 offences, roughly level with the year ending March 2020 (114,117). That category matters to London’s busiest shopping streets, though the headline figures cover England and Wales as a whole rather than the capital alone.
What does the Crime and Policing Act 2026 change for shopworkers?
The Act received Royal Assent on 29 April 2026. Section 45 creates the offence of assaulting a retail worker at work. The text defines a retail worker as someone who works on or about retail premises for or on behalf of the owner or occupier, or who is the owner or occupier. Working includes unpaid work, so family members helping out behind the counter are covered. Retail premises include premises used wholly or mainly for retail sale, and a stall or vehicle counts as premises.
That wording is broad enough to reach market traders, pop-up units and mobile vendors, which suits London’s mix of covered markets, street stalls and small independents.
On penalties, the Act provides for a summary conviction, with imprisonment up to the maximum term for summary offences, a fine, or both. That maximum is six months for offences committed before a separate Criminal Justice Act 2003 change takes effect, and 51 weeks after it. The government’s Bill-stage factsheet described the maximum as six months and/or an unlimited fine.
Section 46 adds a sentencing duty. For an adult convicted under the new offence, the court must make a criminal behaviour order unless it imposes a custodial, youth rehabilitation, community or suspended sentence. The Bill-stage factsheet explained that such an order can bar an offender from visiting affected shops or premises.
Is the new offence in force yet?
Not as far as the published legislation shows. The legislation.gov.uk page for section 45 states that the provision was not in force at Royal Assent and marks it as prospective. Commencement depends on regulations made by the Secretary of State, and the page lists no outstanding effects.
That matters for anyone planning staff training or incident procedures around the law. Until commencement regulations bring the offence into force, an assault on a shop worker is dealt with under the existing assault offences. Shop owners should check the legislation.gov.uk commencement information and Home Office announcements rather than rely on trade press reports of dates, some of which conflict.
One stated aim of the standalone offence is measurement. The government’s factsheet said the offence would let assaults on retail workers be recorded separately so that the scale of the problem can be understood. At present such incidents sit within general violence categories, so official data on them is thin.
What happens to the £200 shop theft rule?
The Act also repeals section 22A of the Magistrates’ Courts Act 1980, which dealt with low-value shop theft. According to the Bill-stage factsheet, shop theft of £200 or less had to be tried summarily in the magistrates’ court unless the defendant elected a jury trial. Once the repeal takes effect, shop theft of any value is treated as general theft, an either-way offence with a maximum of seven years’ custody, with the defendant still able to elect jury trial.
The factsheet said the change was intended to remove the perceived immunity for low-value theft. The effect on actual charging and sentencing will only become clear once data accumulates. The factsheet itself describes the Bill and has since been withdrawn and superseded, so the enacted wording should be checked where precision matters.
A worked example of why the threshold mattered
Illustrative arithmetic: suppose one theft of £180 of goods and another of £220. Under the old rule the first would be tried only in the magistrates’ court, unless the defendant elected a jury trial, while the second was already a general either-way theft. After repeal, both follow the same route. The gap between them, which looked arbitrary to shopkeepers, disappears.
How common is violence and abuse against shopworkers?
The government’s factsheet quoted several industry surveys, which should be treated as industry-reported rather than official statistics:
- The British Retail Consortium’s 2025 crime report: about 737,000 incidents of violence and abuse in 2023 to 2024, up from 475,000 in the previous survey year.
- The Association of Convenience Stores 2025 report: about 59,000 incidents of violence and 1.2 million incidents of verbal abuse in the convenience sector.
- Usdaw, March 2025: in the 12 months to December 2024, 77% of workers reported verbal abuse, 53% threats of violence and 10% physical assault.
These are survey and trade-body figures with different definitions, so they cannot be added together or compared directly with police-recorded totals. They do explain why unions and retailers argued for a distinct offence.
What does this mean for London retailers?
The law applies across England and Wales, so it covers shops from Oxford Street flagships to neighbourhood corner stores. The headline shoplifting numbers are national, and London-specific figures should be sought from the Metropolitan Police and City of London Police before drawing local conclusions.
Several practical questions follow for operators:
- Reporting habits. The ONS stresses low reporting rates. Consistent logging of incidents, with CCTV evidence, supports both police action and a clearer picture.
- Staff protocols. Training and incident procedures are worth reviewing ahead of commencement, so that records distinguish assaults from verbal abuse.
- Costs. Security, staffing and insurance sit alongside the wider cost squeeze covered in what the 2026 business rates changes mean for London shops and pubs.
Independent shops, which rely on a few staff and often the owner on the shop floor, feel these pressures acutely, a point developed in why independent shops still matter to London’s retail economy. Retailers also lean on technology for deterrence and evidence, explored in how technology is changing the modern London shop.
What will show whether the changes work?
Three indicators are worth watching. First, the date the retail assault offence is commenced. Second, the ONS shoplifting series in coming quarters: if the 2% fall persists, it may mark a turning point, though the ONS’s caution about reporting applies. Third, once the new offence is recorded separately, the first official counts of assaults on retail workers, which will finally offer a benchmark against the industry surveys.
The wider context is a high street trying to reinvent itself, as set out in the new high street: how London’s retail areas are being reinvented. Safe, welcoming shops are part of that reinvention.
Reading the numbers and the law together
The latest data suggests shoplifting has stopped rising for now, but at a level well above the historical norm, and reporting quality clouds every comparison. The legal picture is clearer in outline than in timing: a standalone offence for assaulting retail workers exists in the Act, a presumption of protective orders follows convictions, and the £200 shop theft rule is repealed. What shopworkers and owners can rely on in practice depends on commencement and on how police and courts use the new tools.
This article is general information, not legal advice. Laws and commencement dates change, so check the current legislation and official guidance.
Sources: Office for National Statistics; GOV.UK; legislation.gov.uk
