THE SHOPLIFTING EPIDEMIC

HE shoplifting capital of England and Wales has been revealed by data - and it's far away from London.

- By RICHARD AULT

Home Office figures show that shoplifting offences have soared across the nation since the pandemic, as the cost-of-living crisis has bitten.

In the year ending March 2025, more than 530,000 crimes of shoplifting were recorded by police in England and Wales, a 19% increase from 444,000 the previous year and the highest number on record.

The sharpest rise was seen in London, where theft from shops increased by 53% to almost 94,000 crimes recorded by the Met Police last year.

The city's mayor, Sir Sadiq Khan, has previously blamed the rise on the fact that London has “a lot of shops” compared with other parts of the country, along with the capital's particularly high cost of living.

However, while the shoplifting “epidemic” in London's high streets is perhaps the most visible, with multiple videos of brazen theft shared online, the nation’s shoplifting capital is actually far further north.

The latest hyperlocal, street-level crime figures show that in the 12 months to October, Leeds City Centre experienced more shop theft than anywhere else in England and Wales.

According to Home Office figures, police recorded an astonishing 2,836 crimes of shoplifting in the year to October, far higher than anywhere else in the country.

Second was Brighton's North Laine & the Lanes district, the city’s bohemian hub of independent shops, outdoor stalls, restaurants, pubs, and cafes. A total of 2,401 shoplifting crimes were recorded in this area.

Fashionable Fitzrovia West & Soho had the highest levels of shoplifting in London, and the third-highest nationally, with 2,295 crimes recorded, followed by Birmingham's Central district within the city centre (1,699 offences).