SINGAPORE: According to data provided by the Singapore Police Force (SPF) on Monday (Feb 19), shoplifting instances in Singapore rose once again last year, accounting for the largest percentage of all reported physical crimes. Shop theft instances increased to 3,939 last year from 3,244 in 2022, a 21.4% increase. In 2020, there were roughly 2,500 instances, compared to 2,652 cases in 2021.
Nonetheless, from 20,193 to 19,966 cases, the total number of physical crime cases in 2023 decreased by 1.1%.
The police have identified four crimes of concern: voyeurism, molestation, and theft in habitation. One of the crimes of concern is shop theft. In particular, the number of voyeurism instances increased by 52 to 476 in 2023, accounting for 2.4% of physical crimes. SPF also noted that cases of robbery, snatch theft, and motor vehicle theft decreased in 2023 as compared to the year before. No such cases were reported on 277 days in 2023, an improvement of 36 days from 2022.
