🛍️ Retail crime hits independents hardest – make sure your voice counts!

Today, the Office for National Statistics released new figures showing shoplifting offences in England and Wales have fallen slightly, but still sit at over half a million incidents a year. While enforcement is improving, retail crime remains unacceptably high.

What these national figures don’t yet tell us clearly is how well they reflect the real, day‑to‑day experience of independent retailers.

That’s why BIRA urgently need your input.

Bira’s Retail Crime Survey is how they test whether official data matches the reality on independent high streets; from repeat theft and organised shoplifting to abuse, violence and the emotional toll on owners and staff.

If independent retailers don’t respond in enough numbers, your experiences risk being lost in national averages. That makes it harder for BIRA to challenge the data, push for the right protections, and focus on the issues that matter most to you.

National crime stats only work if they reflect all retailers. Your response helps us test whether independent shops are being accurately represented, and if not, push for change. Please take the survey today: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/BZDQQZK