Thefts of meat, alcohol and clothes make up most of the items stolen in the district, and instances are up by 67 per cent.
The new statistics revealed by Herts Police show that shoplifting is on the up in comparison to this time last year.
Since April 1 2016 there have been 368 instances of shoplifting - an increase of 148 from recorded in the same period last year.
St Albans district Det Insp Pete Frost said: “Many people think shoplifting is a victimless crime, but theft costs us all with increased shop prices.”
He went on: “I would like to ask members of the public to report anyone they see shoplifting to a member of staff in the shop – there’s no need to confront them.”
Det Insp Frost added that Herts Police have an app, Facewatch, where they put images of people they’re trying to track down in relation to crimes.
He said he would like to encourage people to download it to see if they recognise anyone they know.
The app can be downloaded on both Android and iPhone devices here.
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