US EditionMore than 80% of shoplifting offences result in no charge as number of unsolved cases soars
In 2024-25, 55% of shoplifting investigations in England and Wales ended without a suspect, with only 18% leading to charges, highlighting enforcement challenges.
- New figures show 289,464 shoplifting investigations closed with no suspect in England and Wales in 2024-25, equivalent to 793 unsolved cases daily, House of Commons Library analysis reveals.
- Statistics show 55.5% of shoplifting investigations failed to identify a suspect and just 18.3% resulted in a charge, with unsolved incidents rising by more than 40,000 over the past year.
- The figures reveal the Metropolitan Police closed 76.9% of its 93,705 shoplifting cases without a suspect, while national offences rose 20% to 530,643 in 2024-25 from 444,022.
- The Government vowed to bolster neighbourhood policing teams and change the Tory legislation on thefts under £200, while Chris Philp, Conservative MP, called for 'zero tolerance' and warned, `The vast majority of criminals aren't even caught- and Labour are now proposing to abolish prison sentences of under a year, so even the few that get caught won't suffer any real punishment`.
- Taken together, the totals show 2,071,156 unsolved offences in 2024-25 and an average of 5,674 crimes closed daily without a suspect, with only 7.3% charged or summoned.
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More than 80 percent of shoplifting cases in England and Wales end without charges, new analysis by the Library of Parliament has found.
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Coverage Details
Total News Sources15
Leaning Left4Leaning Right5Center2Last UpdatedBias Distribution45% Right
Bias Distribution
- 45% of the sources lean Right
45% Right
L 36%
C 18%
R 45%
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