Emily Kenway, a social policy doctoral researcher at the University of Edinburgh and author of "Who Cares: the Hidden Crisis of Caregiving and How We Solve It," has spent time talking to career thieves for her research. Her takeaway? Childhood abuse, a life in care, and little education often pave the way to a life of lifting luxury goods.
Meet Ryan*, 25, a shoplifter so good he makes "no small money" about four times a week by stealing and reselling items from large department stores with limited security. His strategy: look clean and tidy, stay aware of CCTV, and nab just one or two high-value items - designer garments or a small speaker - slipping them into a bag before browsing a bit longer and exiting like a regular customer.
Ryan's hustle is part of a bigger trend. From March 2024 to March 2025, England and Wales recorded 530,643 shoplifting offences - a 20% rise from the previous year and the highest since current police recording began in 2003. Media coverage has been ample, helped by the recent scandal of a Waitrose worker being sacked after confronting a man stealing Easter eggs. Retail workers are bearing the brunt; the British Retail Consortium's 2026 crime survey found theft was "a major trigger for violence and abuse of staff," prompting the retail workers' union to warn that "shoplifting is not a victimless crime." Meanwhile, the claim that Britain's shoplifting "epidemic" signals a broader descent into "lawlessness" has become a media staple.