The frontline patrol on the fight against shoplifting

Retailers have warned shoplifting is spiralling out of control, with offences reaching a record high last year. So what is being done to tackle the problem? The BBC joined officers from Humberside Police – which has one of the best records for bringing charges for shop theft – on patrol in Hull.

I am with police as they stop a young man in his early 20s who has attempted to steal cheese from a city centre shop.

"I do apologise," he says to officers.

I ask the man why he chose to take the cheese without paying.

"It's down to hunger… If you're not eating right your health declines."

He tells me he did not expect to be caught.

"No, I didn't," he says, adding the theft had been "a last resort".

Police checks show no previous record and the man receives a "community resolution" – a formal warning used for low‑level, first‑time offences, which is agreed with the retailer.

"It's like a formal warning, it's not a conviction," Sgt Lee Waller says.

"He's made an immediate admission to stealing, the item is low level… it is his one and only chance."

PC Gareth Bielby says not arresting the man avoids a "costly" process for taxpayers.

"He won't get that opportunity again," he adds.

Humberside Police recorded one of the highest charge or summons rates for shoplifting in England and Wales for the year to date, with figures covering April 2025 to January 2026, at 30.8%, compared with the Metropolitan Police's 7.3%.

That figure has risen from 26.9% five years ago, though it is slightly below the 31.9% achieved in 2024–25, according to the crime outcomes data from the Home Office.

The average across England and Wales is 19.8%, while Lincolnshire Police recorded the highest rate, at 31.1%.

There were 9,522 offences of shoplifting recorded in Humberside in the year to September 2025, according to data from the Office for National Statistics. This was up 3% on the previous 12 months (9,276 offences).

As the patrol continues, we encounter a man who is homeless and well known to local teams for repeatedly stealing from shops.

He appears distressed and keen to be noticed by the officers.

Shaun Casson, an antisocial behaviour enforcement officer from Hull City Council, says the man frequently comes to the attention of police and council teams.

"He's been on the streets quite a long time," he says.

"He's quite a regular shoplifter in the city centre."

Asked why he appears to want to be arrested, Shaun explains: "He's just desperate at the moment. He just wants help and his way of getting help is trying to get arrested."

The teams, he says, have been trying to link the man with support services.

"He shoplifts to live."

Casson says the work can be challenging.

"A lot of the individuals we deal with [are] the drug users, alcoholics.

"So, they can be quite aggressive sometimes."

Offending often affects businesses repeatedly, he explains.

"For example, a gentleman yesterday received a 12‑week prison sentence, and that gives the shop some respite from that person in his prolific offending."

Some shop staff say tensions have increased over the past year. Inside Boyes department store, security guard Dave Dixon says incidents can escalate quickly.

He describes being "thrown around the shop" in previous confrontations, but says the patrols mean it is now "a lot safer".

"They can come and deal with that situation rather than us or the shop people having to deal with it.

"It's a good system to have in place to be able to help everyone around."

Rob Ellis, who runs a convenience store in the city centre, previously told the BBC, there was now a "good working relationship with the police and all the shopkeepers in the area".

According to police data, there were 48 reported cases of shoplifting in the St Andrew's and Docklands ward in January, down from 62 in January 2025.

In January, Office for National Statistics figures showed that overall recorded crime by Humberside Police fell by 3.7%, equivalent to about 3,500 fewer incidents.

However, some categories rose, including sexual offences, which were up 3.2%, and drug offences, which rose by 45%.

Bielby, who has worked in policing for six years, says he has seen some offenders change direction after receiving support.

He recalls one man who repeatedly breached a criminal behaviour order, which led to Bielby "constantly" searching and arresting him.

"He absolutely hated me," he says.

But after the man was released from prison, officers helped secure him a place in a local hostel.

"He didn't re‑offend for about eight to nine months, which is really good," Bielby adds.

"Now he thanks me."

This article was updated on 27 March to clarify that crime outcome figures for the year April 2025 to March 2026 were last updated in January 2026.

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