Shoplifting becoming 'a daily battle for thousands of shops' in Yorkshire

But there have still been 5.8m incidents of shop theft recorded by retailers, along with more than 950,000 incidents of verbal abuse.

In Yorkshire alone, there were more than 48,000 recorded incidents of shoplifting last year with the crime ranking in the top three for the region’s cities such as Sheffield, Leeds, York, Hull and Harrogate, according to data website Plumplot.

The Association of Convenience Stores (ACS) says that shoplifting still remains “a daily battle for thousands of local shops against hardened criminals and organised gangs that are brazenly clearing entire shelves”.

Jo Coles, the Deputy Mayor for Policing, Fire and Crime for the York and North Yorkshire Combined Authority told The Yorkshire Post: “I have spoken with shopkeepers and retailers and it is incredibly frustrating to be in a business to feel people are stealing off the shelves. It grinds people down.

“These are not victimless crimes, you only have to speak to people who work in retail to know how devastating it is, particularly for people who are repeated targets.

“If we don’t tackle it, it becomes a wider problem.”

It comes as supermarket chain Waitrose hit the headlines earlier this month for sacking a member of staff for tackling a shoplifter.

Walker Smith had worked at the Clapham Junction branch in London for 17 years, witnessing thefts on a daily basis. After getting involved in a struggle with a suspect he claims he was sacked two days later.

Marks & Spencer’s retail director, Thinus Keeve, warned retailers are powerless until the government seriously cracks down on shop theft.

He said: “It is worse in London, but it is happening across the country, and it is becoming routine, because it seems there are no consequences.”

The head of Iceland, which has dozens of stores across Yorkshire, wants shop security guards to carry pepper spray and truncheons to tackle retail crime.

Lord Walker said: “We call it shoplifting, which sounds like a cheeky bit of pilfering, but actually we should just call it out for what it is, which is violent crime.”

Yorkshire Post columnist Jane Dowle was shocked to witness an incident herself when her own son tackled a shoplifter while working in their local branch of Asda.

She said: “One afternoon I was in the shop picking up things for tea and saw him leap into action to tackle a wild-eyed thief.

"It was an awful sight. In the scramble to apprehend the offender, Jack’s boss was wrestled to the ground, his glasses knocked off.

“It was bad enough seeing my son potentially in danger, because the assailant could have knocked him out, or had a knife, worse even to witness the sheer hatred in the man’s eyes.”

In its 2026 Crime Report, the ACS says retailers have spent a record £313m on crime prevention and detection measures, investing in areas like CCTV, security tagging, protective screens, facial recognition and AI store monitoring to keep stock secure and colleagues safe.

It added 64 per cent of retailers stated they are reporting more crime to the police than last year.

While it is perceived shoplifting may be more prevalent in cities and urban town centres, a report from North Yorkshire Police shows shoplifting incidents on the Yorkshire coast rose by 24 per cent last year.

The Government says it will do more for communities “blighted by shop theft, mobile phone theft and drug offences”.

Last year it pledged to provide 3,000 additional neighbourhood policing personnel by the end of March.

However, traders along the Yorkshire coast say lack of police presence is exacerbating the problem.

Incidents of shoplifting and anti-social behaviour were one of the factors in Debbie Lavender moving her vintage goth clothing shop from Newborough in Scarborough to Whitby’s Flowergate.

She said independents in Scarborough and Whitby work together as a community to keep each other informed if a known shoplifter or people causing trouble are in the area.

She said: “I have tackled people before and taken things back out of their bags. They weren’t even things of value but for them I think it is the buzz.

“Those with drug and alcohol problems are worse. There was an incident a couple of weeks ago in Scarborough where a girl was hanging around and all the shops shut their doors as she walked past.

“My shop in Scarborough was across from the police station and it still happened. They are driving around but not walking and offenders are doing it in front of them.”

Tony Walton of Crafty Cove is a member of Whitby’s ShopWatch Whatsapp group. Members regularly say there is no point reporting incidents of shop theft to the police as nothing is done about it, he added.

Mr Walton said: “You rarely see police in town. Even when it is something serious it takes them half an hour to attend.

“There is no deterrent because shoplifters know there are no police here.

“Whitby has a population of 12,000 but at the height of the season that could be 100,000 people, it is a huge difference but they don’t look at that.

“I would tackle a shoplifter immediately but a lot are too frightened. You get a group of kids and that can be quite intimidating.”

The Scarborough Anti Theft Group (SATG), part of the Scarborough Chamber of Trade and Commerce, has seen traders adopt a radio link, connected to CCTV and the police. It identifies and communicates movements of shoplifters and suspicious behaviour.

Coun Janet Jefferson, herself an independent business owner in Scarborough, is chair of SATG and Chris Golder is the co-ordinator.

She said: “We are only too aware of the increasing problems regarding shop lifting but feel being part of a business crime partnership, together with the effective 24/7 CCTV radio link, helps retailers and staff safely combat shop lifting, and helps residents and visitors feel safer

as they shop within our town.”

Ms Coles reiterated The York and North Yorkshire Combined Authority and North Yorkshire Police take shoplifting seriously.

The way shoplifting incidents can be reported to police has been simplified while partners are working to understand why people are shoplifting.

She said: “There are different kinds of retail crime, different types of people do that. Sometimes it is young people, sometimes it is fuelled by drugs and alcohol, or organised gangs. We need different responses to that.

“The approach has been to try to ensure there is a real partnership approach to this. It is about every part of the system and trying to make sure people can’t get away with it.”