Police in the UK have flagged a disturbing trend in retail crime: middle-class shoplifters, many of whom are apparently doing it for the thrill it gives them.
The UK has seen a 22% rise in shoplifting offences so far this year, compared to the same period last year.
Police sources say that this comes from the rising cost of living, but also narcissistic thrill-seeking.
Cambridgeshire Police Constable Emily-Jayne Matthews said to ITV News Anglia: “These aren’t people stealing out of necessity, they’re people in professional jobs, taking high-end items like clothing and perfume, simply for the thrill.”
She added that people arrested for shoplifting and facing bans on entering stores would express embarrassment and concern about where they would do their shopping in future.
This has been recognised by the UK government. In July, Diana Johnson, at that time policing and crime minister, complained that more affluent shoplifters were causing an escalation of retail prices.
She remarked: “It’s a crime. If you’re middle class, or whichever class you want to determine that you are, it’s a crime. That is just not acceptable because we all know that people end up paying higher prices if people are stealing.”
This crime has been made easier by the increased use of self-service check out. Without human interaction, many avoid paying, or switch labels to pay reduced costs.
Research undertaken by the British Retail Consortium found that just under a quarter of the UK population have seen an act of shoplifting the past year. In 2024, crime added costs of some £4.2bn on retailers, of which £2.2bn came from shoplifting.
In the first three months of 2025, there were some 530,643 shoplifting offences reported, according to the Office for National Statistics.
Retail chain Asda is trying out facial recognition systems as a counter to this problem. The government has announced that it plans to invest some £200m into enhanced neighbourhood policing. Legislative changes would also see small-scale shoplifting tried as general theft, which can carry up to seven years’ imprisonment.