Shoplifting troubling you? Best practice for business owners

Apr 8, 2025

Shoplifting is on the rise in the UK, with offenders carrying out more frequent and brazen attacks on retailers.

The recent Annual Retail Crime Survey Report 2025 by The British Retail Consortium revealed that in 2024:

• Retailers in the UK reported in excess of 20 million shoplifting incidents, which cost businesses over £2 billion.

• Shoplifting in England and Wales surged by 23%, reaching 492,000 police-reported offences.

• 10% of security personnel supplied by a facilities management firm were injured in the line of duty.

• Retailers invested around 1.8 billion pounds on additional security measures.

Shoplifting definition

Shoplifting refers to the act of stealing goods from a retail establishment. It is treated as a criminal offence under the Theft Act 1968.

The legal definition of theft includes the intention to permanently deprive the owner of their property.

Retailers – know your rights!

As a retailer you have the right to detain a suspected shoplifter on your premises. However,you must follow the guidelines to ensure that you don’t use excessive force, or fall foul of false imprisonment, both of which have significant legal consequences.

According to the Sentencing Council a security guard can make a citizen’s arrest if someone is caught in the act of shoplifting and it is not reasonably practical for a police officer to make the arrest instead, for example if the person shoplifting were to run away before a police officer could arrive. Security guards are allowed to use “reasonable” force to detain shoplifters under the Criminal Law Act 1967.

Stay within the law – the dos and don’ts

It’s important that you make sure you stay within the law and we have put together the following dos and don’ts to help you.

• Do use reasonable force and ensure your staff are trained in the correct apprehension methods

• Don’t use excessive or unreasonable force

• Do maintain clear policies and undertake regular staff training to minimise your legal risks

• Don’t leave it chance and let your staff take matters into their own hands, training and preparation are essential

• Do notify the police as soon as practical and provide them with as much information and evidence as you possibly can

• Don’t hold a suspect and interrogate them without a police presence as this could lead to implications including false imprisonment

• Do collect video footage, bodycam footage, and facial recognition technology – make sure you have policies in place to protect you

• Don’t just rely on word of mouth testimony of store staff or other shoppers

• Do share details with fellow retailers under data protection law which enables retailers to share criminal offence data such as images to prevent or detect crime as long as it’s necessary and proportionate

• Don’t disrespect the privacy rights of the suspect and avoid public accusations or naming and shaming on social media

How can Leverets help retailers?

At Leverets we can help to protect your business from the impact of shoplifting. We can:

• Provide advice on all relevant laws regarding shoplifting, detention, and prosecution, ensuring you always operate within legal boundaries,

• Help you to create or to refine your policies on shoplifting prevention, on detention procedures, and your reporting protocols if you are struck by shoplifters,

• Help with your training requirements for shop floor staff and managers,

• Use our experience to help you assess your vulnerabilities and recommend strategies to mitigate the risk of shoplifting,

• Advise you on data protection laws and the compliant sharing of suspect information with police and fellow retailers.

For more information or to see how Leverets can help you protect your business, contact a member of our team and sign up for a free 30-minute consultation.

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