The Federation of Independent Retailers (the Fed) has repeated calls for government grants to boost security measures for smaller stores, following the news that incidents of shoplifting have increased yet again. According to the latest figures released by the Office for National Statistics - the police in Wales and England recorded a total of 529,994 cases of shoplifting in the year ending June 2025, an increase of 13 per cent.

The Fed’s National President Hetal Patel said: “While the numbers are shocking, they come as no surprise to independent retailers.

“We welcomed the government’s summer blitz on town centre crime and the fact that it has pledged to put 3,000 new neighbourhood officers on the beat as part of its Plan for Change, but these numbers show more must be done.

“The introduction of a standalone offence for attacking shopworkers, which is currently making its way through parliament, is also a step in the right direction, as is the scrapping of the so called £200 threshold.

“However, for years we have called on the government to provide grants for small retail business to help increase their security through improved CCTV. This would act as a deterrent to potential thieves and give store owners the ability to provide solid evidence to catch and punish the perpetrators.

“We also want the courts and law enforcement to work more effectively together to provide a robust judicial response to those who are charged and subsequently convicted.

“We hope that the latest disturbing statistics on shoplifting encourage the government to provide the financial help that is urgently needed to tackle the surge in retail crime.”