Yorkshire sees 48,000 reports of shoplifting in last year
More than 48,000 shoplifting reports were made in Yorkshire in the last year as national figures for the crime top half a million.
Office for National Statistics (ONS) figures say there were 519,381 shoplifting offences in the year to September 2025, up five per cent from 492,660 the previous year.
For Yorkshire, the shoplifting crime rate sits higher than that of England and Wales.
It makes up 7.7 per cent of all crimes reported in the region, according to data website Plumplot, which also breaks down shoplifting figures for across the region.
For West Yorkshire the latest figures show 20,470 reported cases of shoplifting, 13,355 for South Yorkshire, 9,430 for North Yorkshire and East Yorkshire comes in at 4,994 shoplifting crimes.
West Yorkshire Police revealed its results of a ‘winter of action’, which focused on key town centres, seeing a 17 per cent reduction in theft from shops and a seven per cent increase in the arrest rate for that offence.
A spokesperson for the West Yorkshire Combined Authority said: “Shoplifting not only hurts businesses and our local economy, but it also has a very real impact upon hard-working staff and our wider communities.
“Here in West Yorkshire, we’re seeing more arrests and fewer offences, ensuring greater safety within our town and city centres.
“We’ll continue to listen to retailers and work with police on addressing their individual and collective concerns.”
While shoplifting levels for Yorkshire as a whole have dropped slightly, North Yorkshire has seen an increase, particularly in its seaside locations.
On the Yorkshire coast, North Yorkshire Police figures for the 2024/2025 year show shoplifting rose from 921 to 1139 recorded crimes, a 24 per cent increase.
Other surveys have revealed the impact shoplifting has on people who have witnessed the crime in action as they go about their daily business.
Data released last month by the British Retail Consortium (BRC) found more than a fifth of people (21 per cent) witnessed violence or abuse against retail workers in the last year, according to a survey.
The survey also found nearly a quarter of people (23 per cent) witnessed shoplifting with regional breakdowns putting the situation in Yorkshire just behind London.
Twenty-nine per cent witnessed shop theft in London and the West Midlands, followed by Yorkshire and Humberside at 26 per cent.
The East of England recorded the lowest rate at 13 per cent.
The BRC said delivery drivers were also often subjected to abuse, physical violence and threats with weapons.
The Consortium added retailers had spent an estimated £5bn on fighting retail crime over the past five years, including on CCTV, security personnel, anti-theft devices and body-worn cameras.
These costs added to existing financial pressures, limited investment and contributed to higher prices for customers, it warned.
BRC chief executive Helen Dickinson said: “For too many people, violence and abuse are now part of the shopping experience. An incident might last seconds, but for workers and bystanders, the impact can last a lifetime.”