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<p>My right hon. Friend, the Minister of State for Crime, Policing and Fire, has been clear that the Police must take a zero-tolerance approach to shoplifting. Violence against a retail worker is unacceptable, which is why we have made it an aggravating offence to ensure tougher sentences for perpetrators.</p><p>There were 66,876 offenders convicted of a shoplifting offence in the last five years (2018-2022). Of these, 59.3% (39,631 offenders) were subsequently convicted of the same offence.</p><p>This Government is committed to reducing reoffending, and reoffending rates have fallen from 31.3% in 2011/12 to 25.2% in 2021/22. We are investing in rehabilitation to stop prison leavers falling back into crime, including tackling drug addiction, increasing the number of offenders in work and providing basic, short-term accommodation on release.</p><p>On top of this, we are doubling the number of GPS tags available to courts for sentencing, ensuring more burglars and robbers are tagged which ultimately keeps our communities safer.</p> |