Data held by the Ministry of Justice show that there were 62,565 defendants found guilty at all courts for ‘stealing from shops and stalls’ (shoplifting) under the Theft Act 1968 sec. 1, in England and Wales 2007.
These data are on the principal offence basis. The figure given on court proceedings relate to persons for whom these offences were the principal offence for which they were dealt with. When a defendant has been found guilty of two or more offences, the offence selected is the one for which the heaviest penalty is imposed. Where the same disposal is imposed for two or more offences, the offence selected is the offence for which the statutory maximum penalty is the most severe.
Court proceedings data for 2008 will be available in the autumn of 2009.