City centre shoplifting rate among highest in country

RISE IN 'KAMIKAZE' STORE THEFT ADDS TO FRUSTRATED RETAILERS' PROBLEMS

- By RICHARD AULT and NICOLE GOODWIN

AS “KAMIKAZE” shoplifting sweeps Britain, a new survey has revealed that Newcastle city centre suffers more shoplifting than almost anywhere else in the country.

Police in England and Wales recorded more than 500,000 shoplifting offences in 2024 - a 20% surge on the previous year and the highest number since records began more than 20 years ago.

That includes more than 33,000 shoplifting crimes recorded by police in the North East, with police across all three regional forces seeing a rise in retail theft from the previous year.

Shoplifting increased by 17% in the Northumbria Police area, by 8% in Durham, and by 9% in Cleveland.

The figures are released as shoplifters become more brazen in their attempts to steal.

More than one in two retail workers (56%) say they have witnessed so-called “kamikaze” shoplifting - thefts that take place in plain sight in their workplaces.

Around one in eight (13%) say it is a daily occurrence, while more than a third (37%) see it happening at least once a week, according to research from workplace operations and improvement platform SafetyCulture.

The British Independent Retail Association (Bira) has described the rise in kamikaze shoplifting as a “tipping point.” Bira says it shows that some criminals believe they can “walk into a shop, take what they want in full view of staff and customers, and walk out knowing there will be no consequences”.

At the same time, security firms are reporting a “massive increase in pensioners shoplifting” driven by cost-of-living pressures.

John Nussbaum, director of service for retail for security services provider Kingdom Service, said: “For us over the last 12 months, we've got this different level of crime now. We're now experiencing something different - pensioners, people who don't normally shoplift.”

Now, hyperlocal police figures have revealed the city and town centres most plagued by theft.