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Shoplifting in England and Wales, by police force area

In the year ending June 2026, the police force areas in England and Wales with the highest rate of shoplifting were Cleveland (1,864.1 per 100,000 people), Northumbria (1,290.5) and Nottinghamshire (1,192.6). By number of cases the top three are Metropolitan Police (93,195), West Midlands (32,001) and West Yorkshire (21,006): a high count also reflects population size, not just risk.

How many shoplifting offences each police force in England and Wales records, relative to population, and how the numbers changed on the previous 12 months.

519,516shoplifting offences recorded in England and Wales in the year ending June 2026

Highest values: per 100,000 people

  1. Cleveland1,864.1
  2. Northumbria1,290.5
  3. Nottinghamshire1,192.6
  4. Durham1,167.1
  5. Humberside1,089.4
  6. Sussex1,068.6
  7. South Yorkshire1,065.6
  8. West Midlands1,057.1
  9. Metropolitan Police1,023.3
  10. Avon and Somerset1,008.0
  11. Kent884.4
  12. West Yorkshire866.5
  13. South Wales864.6
  14. Lincolnshire817.1
  15. Hampshire746.8

All the data

Cleveland1,864.111,169+36.8%North East
Northumbria1,290.519,500+5.9%North East
Nottinghamshire1,192.614,169−6.6%East Midlands
Durham1,167.17,616+8.9%North East
Humberside1,089.410,514+14.5%Yorkshire and The Humber
Sussex1,068.618,885−7.9%South East
South Yorkshire1,065.615,286+7.1%Yorkshire and The Humber
West Midlands1,057.132,001−4.1%West Midlands
Metropolitan Police1,023.393,195−1.5%London
Avon and Somerset1,008.018,377−0.7%South West
Kent884.417,205+0.2%South East
West Yorkshire866.521,006−6.3%Yorkshire and The Humber
South Wales864.611,713−6.6%Wales
Lincolnshire817.16,488−4.9%East Midlands
Hampshire746.815,407−4.8%South East
Cambridgeshire741.06,978−8.1%East
North Wales735.45,115+3.8%Wales
Merseyside733.510,848+14.8%North West
Gwent720.14,332−6.2%Wales
Essex717.413,940−5.7%East
Hertfordshire713.98,848−11.2%East
Gloucestershire702.24,718+10.6%South West
Thames Valley701.618,668−5.9%South East
Leicestershire697.58,211−9.1%East Midlands
Northamptonshire674.75,558−21.3%East Midlands
Bedfordshire672.25,071−18.9%East
Derbyshire661.77,296+2.7%East Midlands
Greater Manchester657.219,833−6.0%North West
Warwickshire647.64,171+21.6%West Midlands
West Mercia640.98,647−5.3%West Midlands
Norfolk616.55,829−8.6%East
Dorset615.24,902−7.9%South West
Lancashire600.69,705−8.5%North West
North Yorkshire599.15,082−10.1%Yorkshire and The Humber
Staffordshire579.46,868−11.2%West Midlands
Suffolk578.64,570+18.8%East
Devon and Cornwall547.510,093−13.3%South West
Surrey540.96,790+7.9%South East
Wiltshire503.73,887−2.0%South West
Cheshire497.15,700−1.1%North West
Cumbria480.72,469−1.7%North West
Dyfed-Powys375.61,966+5.2%Wales
British Transport Police5,474+21.5%
City of London1,416−1.9%London

How to read these figures

  • These are offences recorded by the police, not every offence that took place: many shops do not report every theft, and how much they report varies by retailer and area. A rise can also reflect more reporting.
  • The ONS publishes these figures as official statistics, not accredited official statistics: recording quality varies between forces. The comparison is between the year ending June 2026 and the year ending June 2025, with the change calculated by the ONS.
  • The rate is the ONS rate per 1,000 people multiplied by 100, using the mid-2025 population estimates shown in Table P3. In areas with many commuters and visitors, such as big city centres, the rate overstates the risk relative to the resident population.
  • The ONS gives no rate for the City of London because its population is too small. British Transport Police covers stations and railways rather than an area, so it has counts but no rate.
  • Police force and region names in English, as in the ONS tables.

Source: Office for National Statistics (ONS), Police force area data tables, year ending June 2026 (Tables P1, P2, P3), Shoplifting. Source: Police recorded crime from the Home Office · Licence: Open Government Licence v3.0 · Data retrieved on

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