FOI reference: FOI-2026-3494
You asked
Could you please advise:
- Whether you publish or hold shoplifting offence data at local authority level
- Where the relevant dataset or tables can be accessed
- If these figures are derived from another source, how the rate per 1,000 residents is calculated at that geography
- A link to the data or guidance on how to locate it would be appreciated
We said
Thank you for your request.
We publish police recorded crime (PRC) data on shoplifting for England and Wales. The latest PRC data on shoplifting for the year ending September 2025 can be found in table A5a (Row 126) of our Crime and England and Wales: appendix tables.
We also publish police recorded shoplifting at the police force area (PFA) and community safety partnership (CSP) level in our Crime in England and Wales: Police Force Area data tables. There are over 300 CSPs in England and Wales. In most cases the geographies are identical to those of a local authority. Table C1 provides a list of CSPs where they cover combined local authorities. Table C4 provides rates of police recorded shoplifting per 1000 population (column Z) by each CSP. We calculate these rates using the number of incidents per CSP in Table C2 (column W) and the population figures for each CSP in Table C4 (column G).
We are responsible for collating and publishing statistics for England and Wales. Should you need them, crime and justice statistics for Scotland can be found on the Scottish Government website. Should you require further assistance, they can be contacted at Justice_Analysts@gov.scot.
Additionally, the Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency (NISRA) are responsible for producing crime and justice statistics for Northern Ireland. For any further queries regarding crime statistics in Northern Ireland, they can be contacted at statistics.research@justice-ni.x.gsi.gov.uk.