The shopkeepers we spoke to say there is not much they can do about it and they often don’t report it to the police
Najmadin Aziz, who owns Roman Store in Market Street, Leicester
Najmadin Aziz, who owns Roman Store in Market Street, Leicester(Image: )
New Home Office figures show that Leicester city centre has the sixth-highest number of shoplifting offences in England and Wales.
Thefts from shops are continuing to soar – as they have been since the cost of living crisis began in 2022 when the Ukraine war and the end of the pandemic led to prices rising rapidly.
The figures show that in the year ending March 2025, more than 530,000 crimes of shoplifting were recorded by police in England and Wales – a 19 per cent increase from the 444,000 recorded thefts from shops in the previous year and the highest number on record.
The sharpest rise was seen in London, where theft from shops increased by 53 per cent to almost 94,000 crimes recorded by the Met Police last year.
Leicester city centre comes sixth on the list with 1,453 crimes in the 12-month period. However, shop workers Leicestershire Live spoke to said such thefts were not always reported to Leicestershire Police.
Other hotspots around the county include Leicester city south with 349 incidents, and Enderby – which includes Fosse Park – with 450.
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The West End of Leicester, which includes the Narborough Road shopping area, had 140 reports and Abbey Park, which includes the shops around Woodgate, had 143.
In the city centre, people working in shops said the thefts were a regular occurrence and that there wasn’t much that they could do to stop them.
At Roman Store in Market Street, owner Najmadin Aziz is seeing an increase in the problem of shoplifting. He said: “I’ve been here for two years now and the past year has been worse than the year before.
“It’s bad, but what can I do, really? I don’t report it to the police.
“Usually it’s homeless people. They come in smelling of drugs and just grab the Haribo and run. I think they take them because they’re near the door.
“Now I’ve put an electronic bell across the door, which rings whenever people walk in. But they don’t care.”
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Reports of shoplifting have been rising steadily in England and Wales since 2022
Reports of shoplifting have been rising steadily in England and Wales since 2022(Image: )
Mohemmed Ali, who works at TTR Local in King Street, said: “Sometimes people come in and steal drinks. It’s beers, mostly. And also Red Bulls.
“Often they’ll put a couple in their pockets and then bring another one to the till to pay. But I’ve been watching them on the CCTV so I tell them they have to pay for the ones in their pockets.
“Usually they just leave them on the counter and go. Sometimes they’re a bit threatening – but I never react.
“Occasionally they just take items and run but I can’t chase them if it’s just me in the shop.”
Kumar Mathews, who works at MS City Off Licence in Horsefair Street, said: “It’s usually just the biscuits they go for. It tends to be homeless people.
“But sometimes they will take beers. They just run and there’s not much I can do – my boss tells me to just stay behind the till.
“I’ve only worked here for two weeks and it’s happened twice in that time.”
See all the local data by using the interactive map below.
The Shoplifting Epidemic
High streets plagued by retail crime
A spokesperson for the British Retail Association said: “Retail crime continues to be a serious problem for retailers. The last thing any shop needs right now is to have stock stolen – it is demoralising and has a serious financial impact on the business.
“There is also the huge mental welfare impact on shop owners and the people who work for them – these people need to be protected and feel safe.
“We have seen better responses to the issue from police forces around the country in the past few months, but now we see hold-ups in terms of prosecutions due to delays in the court process.
“We are urging retailers to report all incidents, but it is disheartening when the retailer sees the criminal out on the street the day after being arrested.”
The British Retail Consortium (BRC) said retailers had a £4.2 billion bill from crime in 2024, including £2.2bn lost to shoplifting, and £1.8bn spent on crime prevention measures.
Speaking in response to rising crime figures, Lucy Whing, crime policy adviser at the BRC, said: “The causes are manifold, but the rise in organised crime is a particular concern, with gangs systematically hitting stores one after another, all over the country.
“Theft is also a major trigger for violence and abuse against staff. Incidents of violence and abuse have risen to over 2,000 per day.”
The Crime and Policing Bill, currently going through Parliament, will remove the £200 “low-value” threshold, which means theft of goods below that value will be treated more severely.
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The bill will also create a new offence of assaulting a retail worker.
The shoplifting capitals of England and Wales
Leeds City Centre (Leeds) – 2,836
North Laine & the Lanes (Brighton and Hove) – 2,401
Fitzrovia West & Soho (London) – 2,295
Central Birmingham – 1,699
City of London – 1,686
Leicester City Centre – 1,453
Stone & Crossways, Dartford – 1,418
Central Milton Keynes & Newlands – 1,369
Nottingham city centre Trent Bridge – 1,296
Strand, St James & Mayfair (London) – 1,280
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