According to a report from OnBuy.com, which analysed data derived from 43 police forces and constabularies across England and Wales, there were 47,580 shoplifting offences reported between April 2016 and March 2017 in the Greater London area, excluding City of London. This is the equivalent of a staggering 130 incidents a day.West Midlands Police had 19,741 incidents of shoplifting reported, followed by Greater Manchester Police with 18,002 offences. City of London Police showed the lowest number of shoplifting cases with only 729 offenses reported – the equivalent of 2 incidents a day.

Cas Paton, managing director of OnBuy.co, said: “The figures are certainly fascinating. Shoplifting is more prevalent than we would like to think. Considering the amount of time and energy shops put into running various aspects of their operation daily, shoplifting is really an unfortunate occurrence for them.“Whilst it may feel unavoidable, shops can certainly take various steps to prevent shoplifters from targeting them. Simple steps such as better staff training to identify potential shoplifters and storing high value items more securely can go a long way when dealing with the problem of shoplifters.”OnBuy.com recommended retailers to have always one employee at the front of the shop, train staff to watch out for unusual behaviours and, display an adequate number of signs throughout the store stating that ‘shoplifters will be prosecuted’.