Offending 2 Recovery, which moves prolific shoplifters into addiction treatment, now runs in Solihull. Town centre reports hit 217 from April to July, up 37%.
A police scheme that steers repeat shoplifters into drug and alcohol treatment has started in Solihull. It arrives after the busiest four months for shoplifting reports around the town centre in the two years of police data we checked.
West Midlands Police announced on Monday that its Offending 2 Recovery programme, known as O2R, has “officially expanded into Solihull”. (West Midlands Police, 28 September 2026)
How the scheme works
O2R targets people whose offending is driven by addiction. The force says it identifies them and offers:
- specialist drug and alcohol treatment
- help with stable housing
- a rehabilitation plan built around the individual
In Solihull it is run by the force and the Police and Crime Commissioner, Simon Foster, with Solihull Integrated Addiction Services (SIAS), Solihull Council and NHS partners. The force says the scheme is funded jointly by councils and the Commissioner.
O2R began in Birmingham in 2018. It reached Coventry, Dudley, Walsall and Wolverhampton in 2025. Sandwell is due later this year, which would cover the whole force area.
The force says close to 1,000 people have been offered support since the start, and more than 200 are taking part now. It cites research finding that 70% of retail crime is committed by people with addiction problems. The statement does not say how many places Solihull will have or what the local scheme costs.
Shoplifting around the town centre
We pulled police-recorded shoplifting within a mile of Solihull town centre from police.uk, month by month. The area takes in Touchwood, Mell Square and the High Street.
The year as a whole is slightly down. There were 504 reports in the 12 months to July 2026, against 526 in the 12 months before.
The recent months tell a different story:
| Months | Reports |
|---|---|
| April to July 2025 | 158 |
| April to July 2026 | 217 |
That is a rise of 37%. April 2026, with 60 reports, was the highest single month of the 24 we checked. The quiet spell came last autumn: 24 in August 2025 and 20 in September.
Police.uk places each crime at an approximate point near where it happened, so these are counts for the area, not for individual shops. The figures run to July 2026, the latest month published. (police.uk open data)
What the partners said
Simon Foster said: “Addiction drives shop theft, and anti-social behaviour.” He said supporting people to turn their lives around would also “protect our local businesses”.
Gary Chapman, who manages O2R for the force, said: “We know that enforcement alone cannot solve retail crime and prolific offending if we don’t address the chronic addiction driving it.”
Natalie Travers, service manager at SIAS, said the partnership meant they could “intervene early, offer immediate specialist treatment and provide a compassionate, structured route to recovery”.
What it means for you
- Run a shop? Keep reporting every theft to the police, however small. The scheme works from people already known to the police, so unreported thefts never reach it.
- Worried about your own drinking or drug use, or someone else’s? SIAS is free. You can refer yourself or a family member on 0121 301 4141 or through the SIAS website. It is based at the Newington Centre in Marston Green, B37 7RW, and also supports families affected by someone else’s addiction.
- Crime in your street: enter your postcode on police.uk to see the same monthly data for where you live.
Sources: West Midlands Police, Offending 2 Recovery expands to Solihull, 28 September 2026; police.uk street-level crime data, shoplifting within one mile of Solihull town centre, August 2024 to July 2026, retrieved 2 October 2026; SIAS.
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