We’re delighted to share this guest post from Kevin Chase, who works with the Retail Crime Task Force at Police Scotland. Kevin draws on his direct operational experience to explore the real scale and impact of retail crime in Scotland — and the work already underway to address it. This is part one of a two-part series.
A victimless crime? The reality of theft by shoplifting in Scotland
By Kevin Chase, Retail Crime Architectural Liaison Support and Development Officer, Retail Crime Task Force, Police Scotland
The term “shoplifting” — what does this mean to you? Victimless? Maybe harmless? Insignificant?
If I give you the real title of the crime, “theft by shoplifting,” does this mean more to you? There is a theft, and somebody has a loss as a result. Does this make it more impactful, or do you still believe there is no victim?
The figures for theft by shoplifting are not good reading. The Retail Crime Report data shows a 43% increase on the 3-year average in 2025-26. If you compare these figures to other thefts, for example housebreakings (some call this burglary), there is a considerable difference. Housebreakings have reduced significantly over the same period.
The theft by shoplifting figures are high; however, the reality is that they are far higher than police data holds. The British Retail Crime Survey 2023-24 tells us this, with research stating that less than a third of retail crime is reported to the police. Why? Several factors — however, lack of confidence in policing featured high in the report, alongside a feeling of “what’s the point?” They also tell us that customer theft is costing the UK £2.2 billion per year. The Scottish Grocer’s Federation, in their 2025/26 crime report, reports that theft by shoplifting costs the stores of those surveyed an average of over £10,000 per year.
The problem with this financial loss is that it is so high that the figures don’t resonate. What if we move from a “financial impact” to a “real-life” impact? The real-life impact is that people are losing their jobs because of the high incidence of theft by shoplifting. It is not only major supermarkets that are affected — small retailers are too. We are aware of small retailers letting staff go because of the impact, and sadly some have closed.
Having returned to Police Scotland after a career as a serving police officer, I found the above statistics alarming — but these were not the statistics that had the most impact on me. Several articles have claimed that certain issues represent “Scotland’s shame.” Is the following another?
In 2021, Scotland led the way in introducing new legislation to protect retail workers from abuse and violence. Within three years, violence directed at retail staff had risen by 42%. The daily figure for violence directed at retail staff reported to Police Scotland is approximately nine victims. However, even these figures are probably an underrepresentation of the true picture.
The British Retail Consortium annual crime survey released in 2025 highlighted that less than a third of violent incidents were reported to the police by staff. These figures are echoed by the Retail Trust — a third sector organisation supporting retail workers — who report that 45% of retail workers say violence within their store happens every single week, and as a result 43% want to quit their jobs. Horrific reading, isn’t it? People should not be subject to violence in the workplace, regardless of their occupation.
People should not be subject to violence in the workplace, regardless of their occupation.
However, in Scotland the trend is starting to change. Funding from the Scottish Government has been provided to tackle retail crime, resulting in the creation of the Retail Crime Taskforce — police officers and police staff solely dedicated to tackling retail crime, from experienced detectives to analysts and highly trained crime prevention officers. We are listening, and we are responding.
We are listening, and we are responding.
Operation Dynos has been at the sharp end of this, achieving considerable results in supporting young people who had been committing thefts by shoplifting across the central belt. Identifying and supporting the young people involved has led to five arrests of individuals in relation to the exploitation of young people. Focused support and intervention with several of the youngsters has significantly reduced or prevented their continued involvement in retail crime.
We can do more, and we are winning back the trust of retailers. The Scottish Grocer’s Federation’s year-on-year comparison for 2024/25 — the year prior to the Taskforce’s formation — found that 97% of respondents were dissatisfied with police attendance times, and 48% were unlikely or highly unlikely to report crimes. The latest report for 2025/26 shows significant improvement: dissatisfaction with response times has fallen from 97% to 26%, and the proportion unlikely to report crime has dropped from 48% to just 11% — meaning we are capturing data better and building improved retailer confidence in the police response.
But what about preventing the crime? That will be a whole other blog…
SC Scotland would like to thank Kevin for taking the time to share his insights and experience. Part two of this series will follow next month, looking at crime prevention and what retailers can do to protect their staff and their businesses. In the meantime, if you’d like to find out more or connect with Kevin Chase or the Retail Crime Task Force, feel free to get in touch.
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