Police to target 500 chronic shoplifters in retail crime crackdown in England

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Tactics to include GPS tagging for repeat offenders, high street bans and tougher sentencesFive hundred of the most prolific shoplifters across England will be targeted in a…

Tactics to include GPS tagging for repeat offenders, high street bans and tougher sentences

Five hundred of the most prolific shoplifters across England will be targeted in a police crackdown on retail crime, with tougher sentences, high street bans and GPS tagging.

The home secretary, Shabana Mahmood, said up to 17 police forces would target the repeat offenders in their area, collecting evidence of offences to secure stronger sentences and ensure they face “real consequences”, backed by an extra £2.5m in funding.

Tactics will include the expanded use of criminal behaviour orders – where repeat offenders are banned from high streets and town centres – GPS tagging and intensive supervision courts, where perpetrators must attend regular judicial hearings.

Those who do not comply or breach conditions will face imprisonment in the most serious cases, and foreign offenders could face deportation.

Mahmood said the government wanted to target people “who are causing so much harm to our communities”. She said: “A small number of offenders commit a disproportionate amount of shop theft. They wreak havoc on our high streets, leave businesses out of pocket and make retail workers scared to go to work.”

The government said it wanted to replicate the success of Operation Kelleher, a targeted crackdown on 10 shoplifters in Bromley in 2025 that reduced recorded retail crime in the area by 70%, according to Metropolitan police data.

The number of shoplifting offences recorded by police in England rose to the highest on record in 2024, surpassing half a million offences. Last year there was a 2% decline.

The Metropolitan police said 104 repeat offenders were responsible for more than 5,300 shoplifting crimes over the past two years.

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