Shoplifting concerns grow across Worksop area as national figures rise

The latest crime figures reveal that the rate of shoplifting in England and Wales has increased by almost a third in the past year, reaching its highest level in more than two decades.

Data from the Office for National Statistics showed that police in England and Wales recorded more than 400,000 shoplifting offences in the 12 months leading up to September 2023, which is the highest since records began in 2002.

These figures come as no surprise to many shop workers across the Worksop shopping area.

A shop worker in Worksop reported that their store is currently experiencing at least five criminal offences per day.

The worker said these incidents have significantly increased since the beginning of the year.

They also mentioned that many of these offences are brazen and involve stealing products such as butter, cheese, coffee, ham, or even walking out of the shop with bottles of beer without paying.

Another store reported that food is being stolen from their shop front cabinets in full view, with children as young as 11 “causing chaos and destruction”.

Jo White, Labour's Parliamentary Candidate for Bassetlaw, has visited the shops in light of these rising figures.

She said: "The shop staff said that they feel incapable of stopping the criminal behaviour, but they are also very fearful of the risk of violence to themselves and their colleagues.

“This is a weight they carry every day of the week.

“The sharp rise in shoplifting is being partly fuelled by a £200 threshold introduced by the Conservative Government in 2014, which

means that thefts of items worth less than £200 are not being prosecuted.

“This is alongside the decimation of neighbourhood policing with shop workers resigned to the police being too overwhelmed to be able to come out for shoplifters.”

Philip Jackson, who serves as the chairman of Shop Watch and the Worksop Business Forum, is actively working to support the town centre stores during this crisis.

Phil said: “I fully agree that more needs to be done to reduce shoplifting and the violence that sometimes comes with it.

“We are lucky in Worksop, as Shopwatch has a good working relationship with the police, and it is rare for us to be told that officers cannot assist us.

“I feel that there are several issues that need to be addressed when dealing with retail crime.

“Policing resources in our town and city centres have been reduced to levels that don’t match increasing crime levels and this needs to be addressed. I am also concerned that the punishments given by the courts are in some cases too soft and do not deter from reoffending.

“I am aware of local shoplifters being released from prison and then offending within days of release. Clearly more needs to be done.”

Jo is calling for an urgent response to these concerns and has called on the government to get rid of the Shoplifters Charter and scrap the £200 rule.

She has also called for zero tolerance zones to combat antisocial behaviour in town centres and shopping areas.