A rise in shoplifting offences recorded in the south-east of England was due to better reporting, Sussex’s Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) said.

Data released by the Office for National Statistics showed there were 11,822 shoplifting cases in Sussex in the year up to March 2023, compared with 8,325 the previous year – a rise of 42%.

Kent (17%) and Surrey (21%) also saw an increase.

Sussex PCC Katy Bourne said retailers were now able to report crimes “at the touch of a button”.

She said: “We’ve spent a lot of time working with our retailers to encourage them to report more of the crime they’re seeing.

“At the touch of a button, they can report all crimes.”

A pilot scheme has seen the time taken to report a crime at 24 Co-op stores reduce from 30 minutes to two minutes, Ms Bourne said.

According to the data, the only region with a larger increase in shoplifting offences in the past year than Sussex was Avon and Somerset (46%).

In Kent, a total of 12,729 shoplifting offences were reported in the year to March, while 3,981 were reported in Surrey.

Supt Peter Steenhuis, of Kent Police, said shoplifting offences were taken “very seriously”.

“There is a range of consequences, which not everyone will be happy with. But we work with our partners and shopkeepers to make sure they are happy,” he said.

“Since June, we’ve relaunched our neighbourhood policing model. So we’ve got more police officers out in the community.”

Across England and Wales, there was a 24% increase in shoplifting offences logged by police forces. No region recorded a decrease.