Record investment by local shops in crime prevention and detection measures has led to a year-on-year fall in the number of shop theft incidents recorded in the UK convenience sector, according the The Association of Convenience Stores’ (ACS) Annual Crime Report.
Over the last year there have been 5.8 million incidents of shop theft recorded by retailers, down 6% from 6.2 million last year. Meanwhile, verbal abuse incidents have dropped by 20.5% from over 1.2 million incidents to 954,000+.
The fall in shop theft and verbal abuse incidents comes as convenience retailers spent a record £313m in crime prevention and detection measures, investing in areas like CCTV, security tagging, protective screens, facial recognition and AI store monitoring to keep their stock secure and their colleagues safe. ACS also observed more reporting of crime, with 64% of retailers stating they are reporting more crime to the police than last year.
Worryingly, the number of violent incidents had increased 13.6% from 59,000+ to 67,000+, while 61% of retailers believe that anti-social behaviour in or around their store has increased over the past year. Over half (52%) of retailers believe incidents involving organised crime groups have increased over the past year.
Thankfully incidents of robbery had decreased significantly, down 36% from an estimated 9,200+ incidents to 5,900+.
The 2026 ACS Crime Report reveals that taken together, the cost of crime and the cost of investing in crime prevention amounts to an 11p ‘crime tax’ on every transaction that takes place in the UK’s local shops.
Association of Convenience Stores chief executive Ed Woodall said: “Convenience stores are doing everything they can to keep their colleagues and customers safe, investing in defensive measures to protect their businesses. The latest numbers on theft and abuse are moving slowly in the right direction, but still represent a daily battle for thousands of local shops against hardened criminals and organised gangs that are brazenly clearing entire shelves and targeting high value products to sell on elsewhere.
“Recent efforts from the Government and the police to tackle retail crime on our high streets and in our town centres are welcome, along with an increased police presence that makes the biggest difference to how safe people feel in their communities. We must continue this momentum when the Crime and Policing Bill comes into force and send a clear message that together, retailers, the police and the justice system will not tolerate theft.”
Crime and Policing Minister, Sarah Jones, said: “I’m pleased this report shows the progress the government is making to tackle shop theft. Working alongside partners like ACS, charges are now up by 21%”
“But we can’t be complacent. That’s why we are giving police the powers they need to crack down on perpetrators, including making it a specific offence to assault retail workers [as is already the case in Scotland] and scrapping the £200 rule [in England and Wales] that lets too many offenders off the hook.
“An additional 3,000 neighbourhood officers will be in place [in England and Wales] by Spring. We will also deliver major policing reforms which will see a National Police Service take on national responsibilities, so local forces can focus on local crime like shop theft.”
For the first time this year, the Crime Report highlights the damaging impact of the illicit trade in goods like tobacco, alcohol, vapes and electricals. 85% of retailers say that the sale of illicit products has increased around their business, and one in four say they have noticed products stolen from their store being resold locally.
