Police record almost half a million shoplifting offences in England and Wales

Of the 473,342 police-recorded shoplifting offences in England and Wales in the year to September that have so far been assigned an outcome, 19% (88,165) resulted in a charge or summons, up from 16% in the previous 12 months, while 57% (269,237) of investigations were closed with no suspect identified, unchanged on the previous year, PA news agency analysis of Home Office figures shows.