Shoplifting crimes in Dyfed and Powys reached a record high in the past year, new figures show.
It comes as major retailers raised concerns about the rising cost of theft, while the Government has vowed to make assaulting a shopworker a specific criminal offence.
Figures from the Home Office show there were 2,047 shoplifting crimes recorded by Dyfed-Powys Police in the year to March – a 13 per cent increase from 1,814 the year before.
It was also the highest figure since records began in 2003.
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It follows the overall trend for England and Wales, as a total of 443,995 offences were logged by forces in the year to March 2024, up 30 per cent on the 342,428 recorded in the previous 12 months.
The figure is the highest since current records began, according to the Office for National Statistics, which described the latest increase as notable.
In the recent King's speech, the Government unveiled plans to amend the Crime and Policing Bill, adding legislation to address retail crime by creating a new specific offence of assaulting a shopworker and introducing stronger measures to "tackle low-level shoplifting".
The amendments also include reversing the previous £200 theft threshold, which allows anyone stealing goods costing less than £200 to plead guilty by post.
The British Independent Retailers Association expressed support for these initiatives saying: "For too long, our members have faced increased incidents of theft, greater volumes of stolen products, and rising abuse towards business owners and staff."
ONS spokeswoman Meghan Elkin said: "There has been no change across many crime types in the last year. However, we have seen falls in fraud, while there have been increases in computer misuse and some forms of theft, such as shoplifting and theft from the person.
"Notably, shoplifting has continued to see increases and remains at its highest level in 20 years."
She added: "In addition, robbery, offences involving knives or sharp instruments, and offences involving firearms have also increased over the last year while remaining below pre-coronavirus pandemic levels."
In Dyfed and Powys, there were 75 robberies recorded, with 12 involving a knife or sharp instrument.