Behind the counter of his convenience store, surrounded by rows of crisps, sandwiches and spirits, Muhammed Rabani glances at a bank of CCTV screens, anticipating a shoplifter coming at any moment.
Muhammed has grown wearily used to the crime. "It's every day," he says. He estimates it is costing the family business in Stockton-on-Tees, County Durham, around £900 every month.
When asked if thieves ever get violent, he holds his hand up to show a cut covered by a plaster. The previous day, he confronted a shoplifter who tried to steal a full box of chocolates: "I told him to stop... and he hit me."
Shoplifting offences recorded by police in England and Wales were up 13% in the year to June 2025, with 529,994 instances recorded according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS). The ONS said there have been "sharp rises" in shop theft since the coronavirus pandemic.
It's a similar story in Scotland. The Scottish Government's police recorded crime statistics for the year ending September 2025 showed a 15% increase, from 42,271 to 48,564 shoplifting offences.
