RETAIL CRIME IN THE UK >>
UK FIGURES FOR 2007

Retail shrinkage in the UK rose from 1.33% to 1.34% in line with results in many other European countries. In 2000, it had been 1.77% of turnover. in 2002 to 1.33% in 2006. 'Shrinkage' measures stockloss caused by crime, waste and error.

The Costs of Crime: These were the overall 2006 crime costs of UK retailers:

Customer theft	£1877 M
Employee theft	£1082 M
Supplier fraud	£265 M
Card fraud	£61 M
Robbery/burglary	£20 M
Error and waste	£614 M
Security and loss prevention	£772 M
The total UK costs of retail crime consist of the losses from thefts by customers, staff and suppliers, and the costs of security. Costs of Retail Crime £3,997 million (Source: Global Retail Theft Barometer 2007)

British Retail Consortium >>
The BRC represents most large retailers and many trade associations for large, medium and small retail businesses.

Its annual survey is a valuable analysis of crime and security trends in the industry and the effects of working together, but its recent results have tended to vary excessively. The 2005 figures show:

• A slight rise in crime of 1%.
• Unwitnessed/unknown crime was 78% of total recorded crime.
• Security costs fell in 2005 by 5%, reducing the cost of crime.
• The average detected customer theft was £115 in 2005.
• The average recorded staff theft case was for £738.
• A fall in staff theft.

British Retail Consortium 2005 RESULTS

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