300,000 cases of shoplifting closed before a suspect is even identified

Costing stores £2.2bn a year ...shoplifting

- By Michael Knowles Home Affairs Editor

A SHOCKING 824 shoplifting investigations have been shut down every single day in the past year before a suspect can be identified.

In total, 529,994 offences were recorded in the year to June —up 13% on the previous 12 months.

But a record 300,820 of these were closed before the perpetrator could be found and a further 90,937 were shelved due to a lack of evidence. Just 107,090 — one in five — resulted in a charge, according to the Office for National Statistics.

Part of this was due to more than 50,000 people refusing to support the prosecution of shoplifters.

Policing minister Sarah Jones said: “Although today’s figures once again show a bleak picture on many fronts, charge volumes have gone up by 25% and almost one in five offences now lead to a charge — this is progress we must build on.