Human and financial cost of crime

The value of goods stolen from shops is at a ten-year high and violent acts against retail staff have increased by 50 per cent in a year, according to the British Retail Consortium's (BRC) 2007 Retail Crime Survey. This year, the survey concentrated on detected theft where there was a police prosecution, but the BRC believes that actual crimes against shops are three or four times higher. Losses from UK retailing totalled £205 million - up from £189 million last year. Across stores of all types the number of detected shoplifting incidents rose three per cent to almost 40 incidents per store per year. The average value of goods stolen is now £156 per theft. But it is the increasing human cost of crime which concerns the BRC. The survey reveals that physical violence against shop staff has risen dramatically, with half a million incidents recorded in 2006. The BRC now believes that most violent acts are driven by drug addiction rather than by petty opportunists.