HC Deb 24 May 2002 vol 386 c705W
Mr. Evans

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many incidents of shoplifting there were in Lancashire in each year since 1997. [56179]

Mr. Denham

The number of crimes of theft from a shop is recorded by the police in Lancashire since 1997 are given in table.

Recorded thefts from a shop in Lancashire
Year Number of offences
19971 7,434
1998–992 6,922
1999–20022 6,680
2000–012 7,123
1 Calendar year
2 Year ending March

There was a change in counting rules for recorded crime on 1 April 1998. Numbers of recorded crimes before and after this date may not be directly comparable. The 2000–01 figure for Lancashire may have been affected by new recording practices introduced by the force in April 2000.