EXCLUSIVE: An investigation by Daily Star Sunday found there was a surge in the number of shoplifting lags being caught across the UK; but they are being sent to jail for longer An exclusive Daily Star Sunday investigation found more shoplifter are being caught jailed for longer (stock) (Image: Getty Images)

The number of shoplifters being caged has surged and they’re going behind bars for longer, an exclusive Daily Star Sunday investigation has revealed. We discovered there were 44,300 convictions in the year ending June 2025.

That’s ratcheted up from 35,300 a year earlier and is nearly as high as the 44,700 convictions in the year ending June 2018. The number of thieves being jailed is also rising; in 2018 25% of those convicted were sent to jail compared to 27% in the year e

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