Cumbria sees drop in theft and robbery despite national increases

The Home Office reported that Cumbria Constabulary recorded 7,600 theft crimes in the year to June—down three per cent from the previous year’s 7,873. Robbery offences also fell slightly, from 173 to 172 over the same period.

This trend stands in contrast to England and Wales, where thefts rose by three per cent and robberies by six per cent.

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) attributed the national rise in theft to increases in 'shoplifting' offences and ‘theft from the person’ offences. 

In Cumbria alone, shoplifting offences jumped by 17 per cent to 2,388 cases, while 'theft from the person' rose by 14 per cent to 130 logged crimes in 2023-24.

Policing minister Dame Diana Johnson said the data demonstrates 'the scale of the challenge we have inherited in our mission to make streets safer'. 

She described how 'too many town centres have been decimated by record levels of shoplifting, and communities have been left shaken by rising levels of knife crime, snatch theft and robbery'.

She added: “This Government will restore neighbourhood policing across the country, put thousands more dedicated officers out on our streets and scrap the £200 shoplifting threshold, bringing an end to the effective impunity for thieves who steal low value goods.”

Graham Wynn, assistant director of regulatory affairs at the British Retail Consortium, said the figures 'reflect the scale of the issue which retailers face on a day-to-day basis'. 

He noted that shoplifting has reached its highest level in 20 years and 'cost retailers £1.8billion last year', and added that thieves are 'becoming bolder, more aggressive, and are more frequently armed with weapons'.

Mr Wynn concluded: "The Government must ensure the standalone offence for assaulting a retail worker passes into law as soon as possible to protect all retail workers and to send a clear message that this behaviour will not be tolerated."