Thursday February 12th 2026
Written by Local Democracy Reporter, Joe Sullivan
Shoplifting is up in Edinburgh as the latest crime stats show there were an average of 27 incidents a day during a six-month period – up almost 24%.
A total of 4,959 incidents took place between April and September of last year, marking an increase of 23.8% over the six months in the year prior where there were 4,006 cases.
The data, put before Wednesday’s culture and communities committee meeting, showed acquisitive crime in general was up 6.6%.
Theft of cars increased by 13%, with 355 cases going up to 401, and theft from motor vehicles was up 45.6%, going from 252 cases to 367.
Just this past week, a number of cases of shoplifting were reported in the press, as it has emerged some shops in West Lothian will trial having workers wear body cameras.
Chief Superintendent David Robertson spoke on the figures at the meeting, saying robbery numbers also represented an increase on the five year average in the city.
He said: “Retail crime remains a challenge and a priority for us, with shoplifting increasing in line with national trends.
“We’ve introduced a retail crime task force, dedicated additional staff to the problem, and we’re beginning to see encouraging results.”
He added the force had faced challenges in the city centre, saying: “We’ve seen increases across a range of crime types including violent crime, robbery and retail crime.
“We continue to work hard with partners to safeguard vulnerable people in the city centre, those with multiple complex needs.”
But he acknowledged the force had made progress in fighting housebreaking, with dwelling break-ins down 12%, non-dwelling break-ins down 4.3% and break-ins at other premises down 21.1%.
In the data, 260 break-ins of houses were recorded, as well as 179 of ‘non-dwellings’ and 112 at other premises during April to September last year.
Solvency rates for shoplifting, various kinds of theft and break-ins all also increased over the same time period last year.
He added that violence was down, and that the police division’s anti-gang efforts were still underway, with seven firearms recovered recently.
Further, he said efforts to reduce disorder and chaos on Bonfire Night, which involved working with city schools and a social media campaign, had gone well.
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