Retail crime has reduced, with violence and abuse against retail workers decreasing by a fifth from 2,000 incidents per day in 2023/4 to 1,600 last year, according to the latest data from the British Retail Consortium (BRC).

The research also found that there was an improved police response, with 13 per cent of retailers rating the police reaction as good or excellent, which was an increase from 9 per cent in the year prior.

This comes as retailers have invested over £5bn within the past five years and upgraded their security measures, including CCTV, security staff and better data collection.

Despite the progress, the level of retail crime continues to remain excessive, at 1,600 per day, the second highest figure on record.

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Helen Dickinson, CEO of the BRC, said: “This drop in violence and abuse has been hard won, but the job is far from done, as numbers of incidents remain almost four times pre-pandemic levels.

“Retailers, the police and Government must continue to work together, building on the great work done so far, focusing on consistent enforcement, better data and intelligence sharing, and targeted action against prolific offenders and organised gangs.”

Last year there were 5.5m reported incidents of shoplifting, which cost businesses close to £400m, and the cost is likely higher with other incidents going undetected. Additionally, delivery parcel theft cost retailers over £100m within the past year.

The Government is working towards adding measures to tackle the level of retail crime, with the Crime and Policing Bill set to pass into law soon.

This will introduce a standalone offence for assaulting a retail worker, with the BRC and major industry businesses calling on the Government to extend the legal protections to delivery drivers.

The £200 threshold for ‘low-level’ theft is also set to be eliminated to try to create stricter rules towards offenders.