Shoplifters are now so violent their raids are being classed as robberies

Shoplifting rates have fallen slightly - seemingly to be replaced by more violent crimes against retailers.A dip in levels of recorded shoplifting was offset by a jump in business robberies, thought to reflect increasingly violent retail thefts in 'Wild West Britain'.Official data shows recorded robbery surged 10 per cent year-on-year to 88,282 - its highest level since before the pandemic.Robberies of businesses soared 67 per cent to more than 31,000 - the highest on record. Robbery of personal property dipped 7 per cent to some 57,000 incidents.The Association of Convenience Stores (ACS) said the rise in robbery may reflect the violence used by shoplifters, leading to a shift in how the crime is recorded by police.Recorded shoplifting fell 2 per cent to 519,516 from a near-peak the previous year.The ACS said: 'The reason for the marked increase in robberies is likely due to a change in the way some offences are now recorded as robberies that previously would have been counted as shoplifting.'Chief executive Ed Woodall added: 'We are extremely concerned about the changing nature of theft against retailers. Offenders are becoming more confident, more brazen and ultimately more violent in their crimes.' Three armed robbers conducted a daylight raid of a family-run jewellers where they stole gems worth £225,000 in JanuaryIt comes after three armed robbers from Essex, who were behind a daylight raid of a family-run jewellers, where they stole gems worth £225,000, were sentenced to 15 years behind bars in July.Deniz Mehmet, 28, Lee Ramsey, 46, and Robert Clarke, 50, were seen on video smashing the windows of Gregory & Co in Richmond, south-west London, in January.Footage taken by witnesses that later went viral showed staff bravely trying to fend off the attackers, who escaped on foot.One of the men, wearing dark clothes and a hood, was seen repeatedly pounding the shop's large glass window, which eventually smashed and was yanked away.His accomplice, also in dark clothes, stood holding a large blue Ikea bag, which the pair then stuffed full of watches, bracelets and other items. Staff could be seen trying to stop the thieves, but the trio fled the scene on foot in front of horrified onlookers who feared for their own safety. Clarke, of Rochford, Ramsey, of Harlow, and Mehmet, of Basildon, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to rob and were each sentenced to five years and three months.In a separate incident, thieves were caught as they tried to tunnel their way into a jewellery shop after an investigation linked them to a spate of burglaries worth more than £700,000. Officers caught them at 3.12am on July 17 as they tried to sneak into the shop in Tooting, south London.Video showed police rumbling the suspects, who pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit burglary with intent to steal and cause criminal damage, as they retreated back down the tunnel.Laurentiu-Daniel Nitisoara, 38, was arrested in a nearby alleyway before officers tracked a second man - Ioan Asafeti, 39 - to a hiding place on a rooftop.The third member of the gang, Sergiu Plastin, 42, was arrested later that day as he attempted to flee to Ireland from Stansted airport.The group, who mainly targeted jewellers using tunnels to access shops overnight while bypassing security systems between May and July, will be sentenced at Kingston Crown Court today.Algerian migrant Txomin Huare-Place, 31, who ripped a £65,000 Patek Philippe watch from the wrist of Tim Hortons restaurant chain boss Alex Schwan, was jailed for almost three years. Txomin Huare-Place, 31, was jailed for two years and nine months for stealing a £60k watch from the wrist of a Canadian tourist in West LondonMr Schwan had been accompanying his wife to an auction at Sotheby's in Mayfair after watching a Wimbledon match when Huare-Place struck on June 30, 2024.The thief, already serving six years behind bars when he received the sentence, inflicted 'intense pain' on his victim as he yanked at the Aquanaut Travel model.He is a member of one of the 'Rolex Ripper' gangs that have terrorised wealthy tourists in London's West End.Huare-Place, who earlier admitted robbery, shut his eyes as he was jailed for two years and nine months, to run consecutively to his six-year term. He has several previous convictions, including two similar watch robberies in June last year. Fellow Algerian migrant Ahmed Djidi, 27, was jailed for 22 months in 2025 for his involvement in the theft of Mr Schwan's watch.An average of £1million worth of watches are snatched from people's wrists every month in London's West End, the Metropolitan Police revealed.