Police ought to cease utilizing phrase ‘shoplifting’ because it trivialises violence, report says

Police and ministers should stop using the term “shoplifting” as it trivialises crime, an influential group of peers says.

In a letter to Policing Minister Dame Diana Johnson, the Justice and Home Affairs Committee called for the “outdated” phrase to be phased out. It said the word “serves to trivialise the severity of the offence” – pointing out shop workers now face “unprecedented levels of violence”.

The group said it should be referred to as shop theft instead. An inquiry carried out by the committee heard there are an estimated 17million cases a year in England and Wales – but less than 3% are actually reported.

Peers said Tory laws are “decriminalising” thefts of goods worth under £200. It told Dame Diana: “Shop theft is seriously underreported and is not being tackled properly.

“There is a widespread perception that shop theft is not treated seriously by the police which therecent media coverage has served to highlight. The perception of an inadequate response to tackling shop theft risks undermining confidence in the police and wider criminal justice system.”

Latest data shows 469,788 shoplifting cases were reported to police in the 12 months to June 2024 – up 29% from the previous year. This is the highest level on record.

The committee welcomed Labour’s commitment to make assaulting a retail worker a specific offence. It also backed plans to tear up a section of the Anti-Social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act that means low value thefts are less likely to result in prosecution.

Peers also called for more funding for community-based rehabilitation projects and new systems to make it easier to report thefts.

They also said more needs to be done to make the public aware of the stolen goods market .Lord Foster of Bath, who headed the inquiry into shop theft, said: “In March 2024, 443,9953 incidents of shop theft were recorded by police – a 30% increase on the previous year and the highest-ever level since comparable records began over twenty years ago.

“But the figures are a drop in the ocean when compared with likely real figures estimated at 17 million with devastating consequences for businesses and families.” He added that the scale of the problem is “totally unacceptable”, and said action is “vital and urgent”.

The committee backed the Pegasus scheme, a national project to tackle retail crime, but said the Government needs to commit to it in the long term.