The Golden Age of Thieves: Why the UK (and West) is a Thief's Paradise in Human History

 

The Golden Age of Thieves: Why the UK (and West) is a Thief's Paradise in Human History

Chocolate bars locked in anti-theft boxes at Tesco and Sainsbury's? This surreal sight in UK supermarkets signals a retail crime epidemic, with shoplifting hitting 5.5 million incidents last year—second-highest on record—and chocolate emerging as a top target alongside booze and meat. Retailers like Heart of England Co-op lost £250,000 to chocolate thefts alone, resold on black markets funding organised crime.

For thieves, today's UK is a dreamland unmatched in history. Petty thefts—once policed rigorously—now flourish amid record highs, with self-checkouts and sparse staffing enabling bulk grabs. Western Europe and North America echo this: US shoplifting surges, French luxury goods raids, all while inflation squeezes low-value hauls into high-profit flips. Never before have thieves faced such lax deterrence amid abundant targets.​

Central culprit? UK police priorities. Forces have long deprioritised "low-level" crimes, openly stating minor thefts like shoplifting won't be investigated without CCTV or strong leads—effectively a public "hands-off" policy. Despite 2023 Home Secretary mandates to pursue every theft, backlogs and resource shortages mean most go unprobed; retailers beg for tougher sentences as ACS warns chocolate funds gangs.

Western police mirror this: understaffed, focused on "serious" violence amid budget cuts post-austerity. Thieves know the odds—prosecution under 5% for petty crimes—making the era a bonanza. History's bandits faced gallows or patrols; today's exploit woke policing and bureaucracy. Fix: reinstate zero-tolerance, or watch bacon next in boxes.