Liam McArthur MSP, Scottish Lib Dem justice spokesperson, has called on the government to urgently focus on restoring community policing after Lib Dem research revealed that in the same five-year period, Edinburgh shoplifting crimes increased by 76%, while in Glasgow they rose by 46%.
Between 2019 and 2024, there were 183,486 shoplifting crimes recorded by the police. As of 31st March 2024, just 79,569 resulted in charges being reported to the Procurator Fiscal – just 43% of all shoplifting crimes, highlighted the party.
McArthur said: “These figures emphasise just how vulnerable shopkeepers are to criminal gangs that, too often, are allowed to operate with virtual impunity.
“For too long, the SNP have failed to give our justice system the support it needs. Now, crimes like shoplifting, which cause so much misery for local businesses and communities, are rising.
“Ministers should be pulling out all the stops to reverse this worrying trend, and that starts by focusing on restoring community policing in every corner of Scotland, making sure officers are visible and trusted on our high streets, equipped with the resources they need to do their jobs.”
David Lonsdale, Director of the Scottish Retail Consortium, said:
“Soaring rates of shop thefts is a scourge on communities across Scotland and is a key factor behind rising levels of abuse and threats towards store workers. The financial cost pushes up prices for shoppers and undermines the health and vitality of our high streets.
“Despite better legal protections for shop workers and record spending by retailers on crime prevention, much more needs to be done to reduce thieving from stores. We applaud the greater prioritisation and the new one-year dedicated retail crime funding being given to this by Scottish Government and Police Scotland, with its focus on persistent offenders and organised criminal gangs which target retailers. It’s a positive start but we need a concerted effort across law enforcement and the criminal justice system as a whole to turn the tide on crime against retailers, hopefully with the funding sustained over future years.”
