Crimes against shops and offices in Plymouth fell dramatically last year during the pandemic, but three businesses were still targeted every day. There were 1,189 crimes committed against businesses in our area during the fiscal year ending June 2021, including robbery, theft, and shoplifting.
This represents a 37% decrease from the previous year’s total of 1,880 crimes, but it still equates to one crime every seven hours.
The pandemic has had an impact on the figures, but unlike in most other areas, the number of crimes did not decrease during the initial lockdown.
There were 548 “business crimes” committed in Plymouth between January and March 2020, but despite most shops, offices, and factories closing after March, there were a similar number of offences committed between April and June 2020, 549.
However, there were far fewer offenses (250) recorded between July and September, 406 between October and December despite the reintroduction of restrictions, 300 between January and March 2021, and 233 between April and June 2021.
The most common crime was shoplifting. Last year, there were 827 shoplifting offenses in Plymouth, accounting for seven out of ten (70%) of all offenses committed against businesses. There were also 228 burglaries, 43 attempted break-ins, and five robberies of commercial property.
In Plymouth, Devon and Cornwall Police recorded 66 crimes of customers fleeing without paying, 14 crimes of theft by employees from their employers, and six crimes of theft from an automatic machine or meter.
Only 13% of the 6,518 crimes against businesses in Devon and Cornwall resulted in someone being charged or summoned to appear in court, while 72% of cases ended with no offender being punished, either due to evidence problems, a suspect not being identified, or further investigation not be deemed in the public interest.
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