Cost of living: Shoplifting to rise, north Wales councillors told

Rising prices during the cost of living crisis will fuel more shoplifting, north Wales councillors have been told.

Theft and handling - the category which includes shoplifting - had seen a "marked increase" in the North Wales Police area, said a document.

It was part of a report by Anglesey and Gwynedd's community safety partnership.

Official Gwen Davies said these areas remained "amongst the safest places to live", but they had many similar issues to the rest of the UK.

"With increases in the cost of living, it was predicted that shoplifting offences will rise over the coming months," the report stated.

Presenting an overview, Ms Davies, the partnership's senior operational officer, said: "The partnership is very mindful of the current cost of living crisis we are facing, and we have seen a rise in theft and handling crimes locally.

"Research has shown that socio-economic deprivation is linked to greater chances of interacting with the justice system, being a victim of crime, or not feeling safe in a community.

"We are also aware that the current situation could lead to desperation for many, inevitably providing further opportunities for organised crime groups."

According to the Local Democracy Reporting Service, the figures came in a report to the Gwynedd Communities Scrutiny Committee (Crime and Disorder) during the annual update by the partnership.

Crime category statistics compared 2020/21 with 2022/23.

Shoplifting in Gwynedd was now 53.8% higher for the year to date in comparison with the previous year, with north Wales seeing an overall increase of 32.3%.

Across Wales as a whole, figures published by the Office for National Statistics last year showed that recorded crime rose by 8% in 2021.

Those ONS figures also said the crime rate for Wales - the number of crimes recorded per 1,000 people - was 81.1.

That was lower than the England average of 85. The highest was in north Wales, with 90.7 crimes.

The new figures from the Anglesey and Gwynedd community safety partnership show theft and handling crimes rose 14.7% in Gwynedd, up from 834 incidents to 957, with a 25% increase across north Wales.

Presenting an overview of the report, Ms Davies also described the "main challenges" faced in addressing crime and the "changing face of criminality".

Crime today was now "far reaching and complex", due to the use of technology enabling "a level of exploitative crime, arguably not seen before".

She added: "Organised crime gangs exist across the UK, and most are involved with drug-related crime."

County lines gangs had been the subject of "much responsive activity" in north Wales, which had "impacted greatly on the criminal gangs' activity in the area," she said.

The report considered 16 crime categories and five areas had seen increases, including theft and handling.

Violence with injury offences, all acquisitive crime, criminal damage and arson, and non-violent domestic incidents also saw increases, but 11 crime categories had reduced.

Violence with injury had slightly increased, with Gwynedd previously recording 815 offences, but which rose to 827, a 1.5% increase.

North Wales as a whole also saw a 1.3% rise.

Acquisitive crime rose from 1,253 incidents in Gwynedd to 1,304, a 4.1% rise, and in north Wales in total it was up 13.1%.

The region also experienced an 11.1% increase in burglary, although residential burglary fell by 11.6%.

Criminal damage and arson cases in Gwynedd had been previously recorded at 890 but had risen to 942 , a 5.8% increase. However, across north Wales this crime fell by 4.7%.