THEFTS from pharmacies has more than tripled in the past three years, a Freedom of Information (FOI) request has shown.

In the 2024/25 financial year, there were 314 recorded shoplifting offences in the Devon and Cornwall policing area, the FOI request shows.

This is more than triple the number in 2022/23 when the number was 68.

There were 179 offences in 2023/24.

In the past three years, there have been a total of 681 crimes recored at pharmacies, including shoplifting, assault and criminal damage.

Around nine in ten of pharmacies have seen a surge in incidents of shoplifting in the last year, a survey by the National Pharmacy Association in August found.