Shoplifters are not going to town

Shoplifting (stock photo)

Shoplifting rates in Rochdale are among the lowest in Greater Manchester.

In Rochdale, there were 1,225 reported incidents in 2016, the third lowest shoplifting rate in Greater Manchester, amounting to one crime reported for every 175 people.

Manchester reported the highest rate with 4,402 shoplifting crimes (one incident per 120 people), while Bury had the second highest with one crime per 134 people (1,399 incidents).

Salford had the lowest incident rate at one per 223 people, with 1,102 crimes in total.

Greater Manchester Police handled a total of 17,240 reports of shoplifting, a rise of 2.6 per cent on the previous year.

Linda Firth from LoveMyVouchers.co.uk, which compiled the study results, said: "Shoplifting doesn't just affect the retailers, it also affects consumers as the losses are typically recouped through higher retail prices.

"With such a high portion of the population already struggling to make ends meet, the affect of increasing retail prices to account for the costs of shoplifting could have a significant impact on budgets."

The total number of shoplifting incidents in England and Wales during 2016 was up 7.6% from the previous year, with the recorded figure from January to December standing at 362,499.