The West Midlands area with the second highest shoplifting rate in the country
| Published date | 12 August 2022 |
| Publication title | Birmingham Mail: Web Edition Articles (England) |
But those areas have the most shops and so naturally attract higher numbers of opportunistic thieves. When taking into account the number of shops in each area, the figures show that retailers in the Hodge Hill neighbourhood are most at risk from crooks.
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Last year there were 139 shoplifting crimes recorded by police in that neighbourhood. That is the equivalent of 46.3 crimes for every 10 shops. Rubery East is next, with a rate of 46 crimes for every 10 shops, and then Middlemore 43.5 crimes for every 10 shops.
A total of 5,395 offences of shoplifting were recorded in the Black Country in 2021/22 -the equivalent of around 15 crimes per day. That was also a 12% increase on the 4,804 shoplifting crimes that were committed the previous year -although numbers were likely down because many shops were closed for part of 2020.
Brierley Hill -home to Merry Hill shopping centre -attracted the most crime, with a total of 349 shoplifting offences recorded in 2021-22 -69% more than the 206 crimes the previous year. That was followed by Wolverhampton Central 347 offences and Walsall Central 264.
But it was New Invention in Walsall which had most thefts per shops, with 187 per 10 shops. It put the area second highest in the country for shoplifting rates.
Such high figures may be related to a specific spate of incidents in the area. Ashmore Park in Wolverhampton is next, with a rate of 56 crimes for every 10 shops, and then Wollaston in Dudley 50 for every 10 shops.
The letter from the British Retail Consortium BRC to Police and Crime Commissioners states that the rise in retail crime is “partly linked to tackling shoplifting” which “pushes up the cost of operating and results in higher prices for everyone”. BRC research shows that retailers spent £715 million on crime prevention in 2020-21, including hiring in-store security teams, training staff in de-escalation, and providing staff with body-worn cameras. But despite the added investment, retailers say they need more support from police.
Areas of Birmingham blighted by shoplifting most often rate per 10 shops
Hodge Hill -46.3
Rubery East -46.0 Middlemore -43.5 Castle Vale -38.4 Selly...
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