Annual Theft Survey Says Shoplifting Continues to Rise

More than 432,000 shoplifters and dishonest employees were apprehended in 2017 by just 21 large retailers who recovered over $188 million from these thieves, according to the 30^th Annual Retail Theft Survey by Jack L. Hayes International.

“Theft continues to plague the retail industry, with shoplifting leading the way! In 2017, Shoplifting apprehensions increased 2.3%, with the dollars recovered from these shoplifters increasing almost 13%. This is the 8th rise in both shoplifter apprehensions and dollar recoveries in the past 10 years. Recoveries from shoplifters where no apprehension was made increased for the 21st consecutive year, up an amazing 18% in 2017″, said Mark R. Doyle, President of Jack L. Hayes International. Doyle added, “While dishonest employee apprehensions and recovery dollars were down (almost 4% and 7% respectively), retail theft overall continues to be a serious problem for retailers negatively impacting their bottom-line, which results in higher prices to consumers.”

According to the survey:

Apprehensions: 432,046 shoplifters and dishonest employees were apprehended in 2017, up 1.7% from 2016.
Recovery Dollars: More than $188 million was recovered from apprehended shoplifters and dishonest employees in 2017, up 8.1% from 2016.
Shoplifter Apprehensions: 391,760 shoplifters were apprehended in 2017, up 2.3% from 2016.
Shoplifter Recovery Dollars: More than $149 million was recovered from apprehended shoplifters in 2017, up 12.9% from 2016. An additional $185 million was recovered from shoplifters where no apprehension was made, up a significant 18.1% from 2016.
Employee Apprehensions: 40,286 dishonest employees were apprehended in 2017, down 4.0% from 2016.
Employee Recovery Dollars: More than $38 million was recovered from employee apprehensions in 2017, down 7.0% from 2016.
One in every 35 employees was apprehended for theft from their employer in 2017. (Based on over 1.4 million employees.)
Shrink: 61.9% of survey participants reported an increase in shrink in 2017, with 28.6% reporting a decrease in shrink, and another 9.5% reported shrink stayed about the same.