Shoplifting charges increased by 98% - police chief

The Thames Valley Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) has welcomed the news that his force has increased the charges for shoplifting offences by 98%.

Matthew Barber said he was "pleased" to see 1,691 shoplifting charges made between 1 April – 13 October across Oxfordshire, Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, and Milton Keynes.

This is compared with 852 for the same period in 2023.

He said he had funded a free app called Disc, which allows retailers to report and access information about crimes such as shoplifting and anti-social behaviour.

As part of Safer Business Action Week, the PCC promoted the Disc app to retailers in Didcot

Mr Barber said making that process easier was "a core part" of his retail crime strategy, which had "set out a series of actions to tackle shoplifting, retail crime and violence towards shop workers".

That included creating a Business Crime Team within the force to identify prolific offenders and improve investigations.

TVP statistics show a sharp increase in charges for shoplifting offences between 1 April and 6 September compared with the same period in 2023.

Mr Barber said that more than 500 premises across the Thames Valley had already signed up for Disc.

“This is an excellent start but the more retailers that use the platform and feed in vital intelligence, the better the policing response will be."

Mr Barber said he hoped that the latest figures would demonstrate that the force was "working hard to improve the police response to these offences”.

Ch Insp Stewart Codling said there would be a focus on with partners and communities "to create a hostile environment for those who commit retail crime".

The statistics have been shared at the start of Safer Business Action Week, which brings together retailers, business groups and districts, and the police to deliver targeted intervention in retail spaces, as well as a range of crime prevention activity.

The PCC promoted Disc to retailers in Didcot yesterday.

He will be joining the neighbourhood team on patrol in Banbury town centre today and will be speaking at a meeting of the Buckinghamshire Business Group.