Shoplifting is 'rapidly moving up the agenda' as it becomes more violent and organised, says Leicestershire and Rutland Police and Crime Commissioner.

Retail crime is moving up the agenda, as it becomes more violent and organised, the Leicestershire and Rutland Police and Crime commissioner has said.

Speaking at the police and crime panel, Rupert Matthews said shoplifting is now a 'profitable business model' for some organised crime groups and coupled with the cost-of-living crisis, shoplifting offences in his policing area have increased by almost 30 per cent in the past year.

He said: "Shoplifting has tended to involve relatively small amounts of money and has been non-violent and at a very low level in terms of crime and therefore had not really been a priority anywhere in the country.

"That's now changing. People stealing from shops are becoming more violent, more prolific and seen as a business, rather than to get a bit of extra money or to feed a drug habit.

"This is very rapidly moving up the agenda. Not just for myself but for policing across the country.

"We are taking it a lot more seriously than we did four or five years ago, and we will continue to take it seriously."

His annual report for the 2023/24 financial year says: "Shoplifting offences have seen a 29.1% increase over the past year, which can be attributed to the cost of living crisis. This could also be attributed to Leicestershire Police's emphasis to encourage reporting of such offences. Nationally, this crime type has seen a significant increase, I will continue to push forward improvements in relation to business crime offences."

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The commissioner, who was re-elected to the role in May, said during his meetings with different communities over recent months retail crime had been mentioned regularly, and crime in shopping streets.