Police warn of rise in shoplifting in Inverness

Police say rates of shoplifting increased in the past year

Police say rates of shoplifting and fraud in Inverness increased over the past 12 months.

There were 680 shoplifting incidents in 2024-25, almost 13% more than the 603 reported in 2023-24. For fraud, the figures were 155 incidents in 2023-24 and 168 in 2024-25.

Police Scotland said the three-year average for shoplifting in the city was 423 incidents and 408 for the five-year average.

In a report to Highland Council, the force said the detection rate for the crime was 63% but only 14% for fraud.

In the report to next week's city of Inverness committee, Ch Insp Jamie Wilson said: "Unfortunately, crimes of dishonesty have increased, particularly theft by shoplifting and fraud.

"My team are actively looking at preventative measures we can implement to drive this number down, whilst robustly investigating any crime of dishonesty reported to the police."

City centre business organisation, Inverness BID, said the Covid pandemic was likely to have affected the average figures but added that shoplifting was a problem.

It said it worked closely with Police Scotland in preventing and responding to retail crime.

A spokesperson said: "Whilst the rise in shoplifting is disappointing, and coincides with a rise in anti-social behaviour in the city centre which impacts on retail outlets, it was not totally unexpected given the financial pressures on retail and our frontline public services."

The spokesperson said this situation had at times led to reduced in-shop security and visible police resources being available.

Retailers in other parts of Scotland have reported problems with shoplifting, including in parts of Edinburgh.