Shoplifter receives 171st conviction – But what’s driving the UK’s theft epidemic?

This month, Tanya Liddle, known as Britain’s most prolific shoplifter, was convicted for the 171st time.

The 43-year-old woman has been arrested almost 400 times and is so well known to Newcastle shopkeepers that she wears all sorts of hats to disguise herself.

In April, she was caught on CCTV wearing a large floppy hat and leaving a TK Maxx store with £1,500 worth of designer bags strapped to her arms.

She is now no longer allowed to visit shops in the northeast of the country, except for a pharmacy, a supermarket and a clothing store.

Northumbria Police successfully applied for a civil injunction against Liddle at a hearing at Newcastle Crown Court last Thursday.

Police say this is the toughest order they have ever issued to a repeat offender, and she could face a prison sentence if she breaches the terms of the order.

The measures come as the UK battles a massive epidemic of shoplifting.

Last year, 430,000 incidents of shoplifting were recorded across the country, the Office for National Statistics said, the highest number ever and up by more than a third on the previous year.

However, the actual number is believed to be much higher.

The British Retail Consortium, which represents most major retailers, reported losses of £1.8bn from shoplifting between September 1, 2022, and August 31, 2023, up from £950m the year before.

A BRC survey also found that the number of incidents of violence and abuse against staff had increased by 50%, with 1,300 incidents reported.

Co-op, one of the most vocal retailers on shoplifting, recorded 330,000 incidents of shoplifting, assault, violence and antisocial behaviour across its 2,500+ stores in the UK last year, a 44% increase on the previous year.

What is the cause of this increase?

Speaking to the Guardian, Paul Gerrard, Co-op’s director of public affairs, believes the increase is not because individuals are stealing for themselves, but because people are ‘stealing on a large scale to sell to people who are struggling to make ends meet’. This is often due to the cost of living crisis.

Criminologist Professor Emmeline Taylor, who wrote a report for the Co-op on the impact of shoplifting on the sector, said there were three types of shoplifters.

The first group are the organized criminals who travel from province to province to steal large quantities and then sell them at a lower price.

“Why risk punishment for drug trafficking when you can just go after businesses across the country?” she told the Guardian.

The second are the local, prolific thieves who repeatedly attack the same stores and sell the products to the communities where they live. Recently, she said, “markets have emerged for really boring, everyday products,” such as laundry detergent and coffee.

The third type she describes as the ‘Swipers’ – basically opportunists. This could be someone who uses a self-service checkout and sometimes decides at the last minute not to let everything through.

In November, Archie Norman, chairman of M&S and a former shadow Conservative Party minister, said he believed this group was, at least in part, behind the recent rise.

He told the LBC podcast Money with David Buik and Michael Wilson: ‘It’s too easy to say it’s a cost of living problem’, but in reality the culprits are impatient, demanding middle-class people.

He added: ‘A lot of people go in and think, ‘Well, this isn’t scanned or it’s very difficult to scan these kinds of things and I shop here all the time, it’s not my fault, I’m entitled to it.’

According to the Metro, a middle-class mother admitted to shoplifting for the ‘buzz’.

She said self-service checkouts were the best place to steal.

‘You can also add more expensive products such as salmon fillets as onions.

“I just walk past the security guards and smile. I’m embarrassed, but I know it’s not just me.”

Professor Jason Roach, a criminologist at the University of Huddersfield, suspects that young people influenced by social media are a major contributor to the increase in theft.

He said the “pressure to adapt and have the latest gadgets is even greater than before.”

Last year, dozens of youths stormed Oxford Street in central London to carry out raids, allegedly organising the burglaries on TikTok.

Of course, it’s not just large retailers who are confronted with shoplifters; smaller, independent businesses are also targeted.

According to The Independent, shoplifting is a major problem for small businesses, reports Simply Business, an insurer for small businesses.

Research found that 57% of respondents had lost more than £250 to shoplifting in the past year.

John Bebbington, owner of Everything One Pound, an independent budget store in Bristol, said in May: ‘Shoplifting is pretty horrendous at the moment, it’s completely out of control.’

According to Mr Bebbington, thefts were occurring at least once a week. He blamed the rise in incidents on the cost of living crisis and the lack of criminal sanctions to act as a deterrent.

On the latter, he said, “If you steal something that you really, really want, you’re not going to get in trouble, you’re not going to get a criminal record, you’re not going to get arrested. There’s really nothing to lose.”

In October last year, the previous government launched the Retail Crime Action Plan, an initiative to reduce shoplifting across the country.

The plan includes a commitment from police to ‘urgently attend shoplifting incidents where violence has been used against a store employee, where security guards have apprehended a perpetrator or where presence is needed to secure evidence.’

It also includes advice for retailers on how to provide the best possible evidence to police.

This includes guidance on sending CCTV images via a digital management system so that police can check them against a national police database to identify and prosecute offenders, particularly individuals who commit high levels of offending or are potentially dangerous.

A new specialist police team called Opal has also been established to tackle organised shoplifting gangs by working closely with retailers.

In the three months leading up to August 27, the team identified more than 152 individuals linked to organised retail crime and secured the arrest of more than 23 serious offenders.

Deputy Chief Constable Alex Goss, who is responsible for retail crime on behalf of the National Police Chiefs Council, said: ‘Late last year we worked with the government to develop the Retail Crime Action Plan, which sets out clear guidance on how to tackle retail crime, including pursuing all reasonable lines of enquiry.

‘Police units have incorporated the plan into their operational work and we are already seeing positive results and increased confidence in retailers.’

‘This renewed focus, combined with Opal’s highly effective intelligence work in tackling organised retail crime, shows a marked improvement in our response, taking decisive action against offenders and supporting retailers of all sizes.’

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