These Sussex locations rank among the UK's shoplifting hotspots

New research has identified the UK areas with the highest shoplifting rates.

The study by commercial security systems provider Avigilon analysed data from the Office for National Statistics covering shoplifting incidents across the UK over 12 months.

This identified the total number of shoplifting incidents recorded by area, as well as the proportion of shoplifting incidents compared to all recorded crime.

The number of shoplifting incidents in each area scaled per 1,000 local population ranked those most vulnerable to shoplifting.

Westminster recorded the highest rate of shoplifting, with 25.26 incidents per 1,000 residents in the last year. The central London borough was revealed to experience a total of 5,305 shoplifting offences during the period studied, and while this accounted for just 5.6 per cent of all local crime, it equates to over 14 shoplifting incidents per day on average.

Worthing ranked second with 22.8 incidents per 1,000 people. The seaside town's shoplifting rate was particularly notable as these incidents made up one of the highest proportions in the UK, at 25 per cent of all crime in the area.

Neighbouring Worthing, Adur ranked third on the list, with 21.19 incidents per 1,000 residents. According to the findings, 28.4 per cent, or more than one in four of all crimes reported in the area over the year, were shoplifting. This is the highest proportion revealed across all 290 locations analysed.

Lincoln and Eastbourne round out the top five with rates of 20.96 and 20.62 shoplifting incidents per 1,000 people, respectively.

In addition to Lincoln, East Midlands locations appeared prominently in the national top ten, with Mansfield in sixth and Nottingham in eighth for shoplifting rates.

Hartlepool was the highest-ranked northern town, placing seventh among the locations most vulnerable to shoplifting, while Cambridge and Crawley complete the top ten.

A Sussex Police spokesperson said: “We understand how shoplifting impacts businesses, employees and the wider community.

“Shoplifting is not a victimless crime. We recognise the long-term toll that these offences can take on businesses and employees, especially for those who are repeatedly targeted.

“We will not tolerate shoplifting and encourage businesses to report every incident, no matter how small.

“Consistent reporting assists police in mapping where harm is happening, understanding who is responsible, and building effective plans of where resources should be focused to help deliver meaningful outcomes and prevent future offences.

“We are committed to investigating all reasonable lines of enquiry when reports are received and are actively working with businesses and partners to tackle shoplifting and bring offenders to justice.

“Sussex Police collaborate with a number of partners including Business Crime Reduction Partnerships (BCRP) operating across Sussex, and local authorities to provide a robust response to shoplifting including increased hotspot patrols, shared intelligence, retail visits to provide crime prevention, reporting and safety advice, and making full use of technology to identify, arrest and charge offenders.

“Thanks to the sustained commitment of officers and partners, over the last year we have seen a 69 per cent decrease in violence against shopworkers, and in the past month we have secured prison sentences for four prolific West Sussex shoplifters.

“The force also recently became the first in the country to secure GPS monitoring tags for prolific shoplifters, as part of a ground-breaking scheme in East Sussex. The scheme aims to support police and partners in the enforcement of criminal behaviour orders, while also looking to bring about long-term behavioural change.

“We are additionally seeing an increase in Criminal Behaviour Orders (CBOs) given to shoplifters which enables us to pursue more custodial sentences for prolific offenders.”

Will Macdonald, director of product management for Avigilon at Motorola Solutions, said: “The figures highlight how shoplifting affects different areas across the UK, with higher levels of shoplifting seen in the South relative to population size.

“For retailers in the high-risk areas listed, investing in robust security measures like high-definition video and analytics can make a significant difference.

“Modern security systems can help identify potential incidents before they occur and provide valuable evidence when they do.

“To help combat this increased risk, focusing security resources on known high-risk periods and product areas is particularly important during busy shopping periods.”