Crime against convenience retailers cost an estimated 232m in 2016 an average of over 4,600 a store according to new figures from the Association of Convenience Stores (ACS).

Shop theft totalled 130m-plus equivalent to 2,600 a store with the most commonly stolen items being alcohol, meat and confectionery.

The organisations Crime Report 2017 revealed fraud costs convenience stores more than 8m last year, while incidents of staff theft amounted to 61m and there were more than9,400 incidents of violence against retailers and employees.

It also showed that retailers spend 3,900-plus a year on crime prevention measures including CCTV, more secure cash storage and external security staff.

Sarah Newton, minister for vulnerability, safeguarding and countering extremism, said: Retail crime harms businesses, consumers and communities, while violent crime can have a devastating impact on the victim. This government is acting to tackle both violent and retail crime, by identifying what drives criminals and bringing together new research, techniques and technology to prevent offending and bring perpetrators to justice.

We are working closely with police and retailers to improve our understanding of the nature of crimes against the sector. Just last month our work with police and petrol station retailers, led by the ACS, saw us introduce new measures to tackle petrol theft.

James Lowman, ACS chief executive, said: Over the last year, many retailers have reported a significant increase in the level of crime. There are many factors influencing this, including investment in crime detection measures such as CCTV and external security, which has led to retailers being more aware of the theft occurring in their stores.

Unfortunately, the vast majority of what are perceived to be low- level crimes, such as shop theft, still go unreported to police. Shop theft is not a victimless crime, and must be taken seriously by the police. The current laws around shop theft do not adequately capture those who are repeat offenders stealing low-value items on a regular basis and we believe this needs to change.

We encourage retailers to build relationships with local police forces and show them the damage, both financial and human, that theft and other crimes do to them and their staff.

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Convenience stores count the cost of retail crime - Talking Retail - Talking Retail