Stolen goods markets are fuelling theft across Britain major new report warns

A major new report commissioned by the National Business Crime Centre (NBCC), operated by The City of London Police, is calling for greater action to disrupt the illicit markets that enable stolen goods to be bought and sold.

The research is directly relevant to the NBCC’s work to tackle business crime and organised acquisitive crime, including shop theft and organised retail crime that can feed goods into resale markets. It warns that the ability to move stolen property quickly through legitimate-looking channels helps fuel theft and other crimes committed for financial gain across the UK.

The research concludes that theft remains profitable because stolen goods can be quickly converted into cash through a network of local buyers, rogue businesses, online marketplaces, car boot sales and organised criminal supply chains. For retailers, this matters because tackling the theft itself addresses only one part of the criminal model: disrupting the routes through which stolen products are handled and resold can reduce the financial incentive for repeat and organised offending.

The report, Stolen Goods: Exploring the Shifting Landscape of Illicit Markets and Identifying Ways to Disrupt Them, is the first UK study to comprehensively examine what happens to stolen property after it is taken. Commissioned by the NBCC and authored by Professor Emmeline Taylor of the Aptus Business Crime Research Centre at City St George's, University of London, it draws on interviews with offenders, police, retailers, Trading Standards, online marketplaces and industry experts. Its scope extends beyond retail theft, but the findings have particular relevance to the retail sector because they expose the resale infrastructure that can sustain shoplifting and organised retail crime.

Professor Emmeline Taylor said: "For too long we've concentrated almost exclusively on the people who steal, while paying far less attention to the markets that allow stolen goods to be converted into cash. Our research suggests we need to broaden that focus. Theft only becomes profitable when someone is willing to buy, handle, transport or sell the stolen property. If we make those markets harder to access, less profitable and easier to disrupt, we have a real opportunity to reduce acquisitive crime."

Lisa Maslen, National Business Crime Centre, City of London Police, said: "For the NBCC, the importance of this research is that it connects what happens after a theft with the business crime we see on the ground. Retailers and other businesses can be repeatedly targeted because stolen goods can be moved quickly into resale channels, including through organised networks. By commissioning this research, we wanted to better understand those routes and identify where policing, retailers and industry can intervene together for the greatest impact.

“The findings reinforce the importance of stronger partnerships, better intelligence sharing and greater accountability across the resale market. Disrupting the routes used to trade stolen goods can complement action against shoplifters and organised retail crime groups, make theft less profitable and help reduce business crime."

The report identifies a significant intelligence gap around stolen goods markets and calls for a coordinated response across policing, government, retailers, manufacturers and online platforms. Closing that gap would give the NBCC and its partners a clearer picture not only of where business and retail theft occurs, but of how stolen goods are subsequently handled, moved and resold.

It also introduces a new Six Vs Framework for understanding stolen goods markets - Volume, Value, Velocity, Volatility, Violence and Visibility. Among its findings, the report highlights:

• Stolen goods are routinely sold through a spectrum of disposal routes, from local independent retailers, pubs and car boot sales to online marketplaces and international export networks.

• Police and retailers generally have good intelligence on where theft occurs but far less understanding of the markets that facilitate resale - a gap that can limit efforts to disrupt the wider operating models behind repeat and organised retail crime.

• A "missing middle" of handlers, repeat buyers, online resellers, storage providers and market facilitators represents one of the greatest opportunities for disrupting stolen goods markets and the criminal networks that rely on them.

• Improved traceability, forensic marking, product registration and benefit-denial technologies could significantly strengthen enforcement and reduce the profitability of theft.

• Existing legislation provides many of the powers needed to tackle illicit online trading, but stronger implementation, intelligence sharing and accountability are required.

The report makes a series of recommendations for government, policing, retailers, manufacturers and online platforms, including the creation of a National Stolen Goods Intelligence Framework, greater accountability across physical and online secondary markets, expanded traceability for high-risk products and public awareness campaigns to reduce demand for stolen goods. Together, these measures would strengthen the response to the resale side of business and retail theft, alongside enforcement against those committing the original offences.

The research has been commissioned by the National Business Crime Centre to support its ongoing work to tackle business crime and organised acquisitive crime, including organised retail crime, and to strengthen partnerships between policing, retailers and industry. By focusing on what happens to goods after they are stolen, the report identifies additional points at which those partnerships can disrupt criminal activity and reduce the profitability of theft.

You can read the full report here: Stolen Goods Report 2026