Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many and what proportion of people convicted of shoplifting in the last five years have subsequently been convicted of the same offence.

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.

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.

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.

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.