London Mayor Sadiq Khan has appeared to suggest a 50% rise in shoplifting in the capital is “because we have a lot of shops”.
New figures show 80,041 shoplifting offences were recorded in London in the year to September, up from 53,202 the year before.
The increase is more than double the rise (22%) seen across the whole of England and Wales.
When asked why London was experiencing such a spike, Mr Khan said: “Because we have a lot of shops here, and because the cost-of-living crisis is more acute in the capital city.”
The Labour politician, who is in his third successive term as London Mayor, said “acquisitive crime is going to go up, and has gone up” as the cost of living crisis worsens.
He said the three “acquisitive” crimes that had increased the most were “personal theft, personal robbery and shoplifting”.
London has around 40,000 retail outlets, but the surge cannot be explained by a 50% rise in the number of shops as the number actually fell by nearly 400 in the year to June, according to analysts at PWC, the Daily Mail reports.
New figures from a survey by the British Retail Consortium (BRC), show retail crime is at its highest level on record.
The survey revealed theft reached an all-time high with over 20 million incidents (over 55,000 per day) costing retailers £2.2bn in 2023/24.
It also found incidents of violence and abuse climbed to more than 2,000 per day in the same period, up from 1,300 the year before, with 70 incidents per day involving a weapon.
The Government has confirmed it will invest an extra £100m in neighbourhood policing, in addition to £100m announced in December for England and Wales to put 13,000 more police officers on the streets by 2029.
Downing Street said the investment is about “visible, accessible policing”.
Policing minister Dame Diana Johnson said more officers on the ground would help to target anti-social behaviour and “record-breaking” levels of shoplifting.
