Shop theft in England: seven years maximum, the truth about £200 and what the 2026 Act changes

The rumour that you can take things from English shops and nothing will happen has a long life, and it sounds plausible because it contains a real number: £200. Here is what that number actually means, what the law changed this year, and how the story ends for someone living here on a visa.

What is the sentence for theft from a shop?

Shop theft is ordinary theft under the Theft Act 1968, an either-way offence, with a maximum of seven years' imprisonment. English law has no separate category of petty, unpunishable theft.

So where does £200 come from?

From section 176 of the Anti-social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014, which inserted section 22A into the Magistrates' Courts Act 1980, creating "low-value shoplifting".

It applies where three conditions are met at once: the goods were offered for sale in a shop or similar trading premises; the price did not exceed £200; and the accused was a customer or purported to be one. Value is the price at which the goods were offered.

What it does: sends the case to the magistrates' court by default, with a maximum of 51 weeks (6 months for earlier offences), a fine, or both. The accused may still elect trial by jury.

What it does not do: it removes neither the offence, nor the conviction, nor the penalty. And the detail the rumour always loses: where several such offences are charged on the same occasion, their values are added together.

What does the Crime and Policing Act 2026 change?

The Act received Royal Assent on 29 April 2026. Three things matter for shops.

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Section 47 is titled plainly: theft from a shop becomes triable either way irrespective of the value of the goods. The £200 threshold goes, along with section 22A and section 176 of the 2014 Act.

Section 45 creates a standalone offence of assaulting a retail worker. The maximum on summary conviction is 6 months (51 weeks once the relevant 2003 provision commences), an unlimited fine, or both. A retail worker is someone working on or about retail premises, including unpaid, as well as the owner or occupier; premises include stalls and vehicles.

Section 46 adds a Criminal Behaviour Order: on conviction under section 45 the court must make one unless there are exceptional circumstances. Such an order can ban a person from named shops.

The honest caveat: as of today, sections 45 and 47 are not yet in force — legislation.gov.uk marks both "not in force at Royal Assent". The £200 rule still operates, exactly as described above.

Does nothing really happen in practice?

Government figures say otherwise. Charges for shop theft rose 17% in a year, to 116,641. Retail crime stood at 535,724 offences in the year to December 2025 — 2% below the highest on record and 1% up on the previous year.

What does it mean for a migrant?

This is the part missing from every retelling, and the most expensive.

The Suitability part of the Immigration Rules treats convictions as grounds for refusal. A custodial or suspended sentence of 12 months or more makes refusal mandatory (SUI 5.1(a)) and existing permission liable to cancellation (SUI 5.2). A sentence under 12 months is a discretionary ground (SUI 5.3(a)). A non-custodial sentence, or an out-of-court disposal recorded on a criminal record, is also a discretionary ground (SUI 5.3(b)).

For visitors and stays under six months the rule is harder: refusal is mandatory where less than 12 months have passed since the sentence ended (SUI 5.4(a)) or since conviction for a non-custodial sentence or recorded disposal (SUI 5.4(b)).

In plain terms: a £15 bottle is not "nothing will happen". It is a question on the form at every visa extension, at settlement, and at naturalisation.