Senior leaders from the Metropolitan Police, Mayor’s Office for Policing and Crime, and some of the largest UK retailers have agreed an action plan to help tackle retail crime in the capital. Today’s roundtable, which took place at New Scotland Yard, included the Assistant Commissioner for the Metropolitan Police, two Deputy Mayors, and around twenty retail organisations.
Retailers and police agreed the priorities for improved partnership working to reduce crime and deliver stronger outcomes for our high streets. The action plan focuses on improving evidence sharing, supporting each other through the criminal justice process, and giving greater priority to retail crime.
Police agreed to:
· Prioritise attendance to violent retail incidents and those where the offender is detained
· Improve updates to retailers on the progress and outcomes of reported crimes
· Focus enforcement on prolific offenders and organised crime groups
Retailers agreed to:
· Ensure high quality evidence, including CCTV and body-worn camera footage, is preserved and shared
· Provide police with a single point of contact, to reduce delays
· Give colleagues the necessary time to support the criminal justice process
The Metropolitan Police is the largest police force in the country, responsible for policing in the capital. As the largest city in the country, it accounts for approximately a fifth of all retail crime incidents.
The Met also made almost 50 per cent more arrests in 25/26, and the positive outcome rate for retail crime – which is a charge or caution – rose by 123 per cent, to 5,996.
Helen Dickinson, Chief Executive at the British Retail Consortium, said:
“We hope today’s action plan can boost collaboration between retailers and the Metropolitan Police: working together and sharing intelligence is essential to tackling the scourge of retail crime. Theft already costs shops hundreds of millions of pounds every year – money that would be better spent investing in lower prices and improving the customer experience.
“The Crime and Policing Act offers police new powers to clamp down on criminals and it is essential that offenders are prosecuted to the full extent of the law. Better intelligence sharing, improving reporting, and robust enforcement are critical to turning the tide on retail crime once and for all.”
Matt Twist, Assistant Commissioner for Frontline Policing at the Metropolitan Police, said:
“We understand that shoplifting has a corrosive impact on businesses, retail workers, and communities.
“That’s why we remain committed to engaging with the retail sector and today’s roundtable is another step in the right direction.
“By putting more officers into our neighbourhoods, we have cut shoplifting offences by nearly four per cent, but we know there’s still more work to be done.
“Sharing evidence is crucial in building strong cases and stopping offenders, we will continue to work with business to ensure incidents are reported to bring those offenders to justice.”
Deputy Mayor for Policing and Crime, Kaya Comer-Schwartz, said:
“The Mayor has worked with the Met to drive shoplifting and theft down across London. Record funding from City Hall is putting more officers on the streets in the West End and in hotspots across the capital, where they are working with retailers to crackdown on prolific offenders and ensure London is a no-go zone for shoplifting and antisocial behaviour.
“We have built excellent working relationships with retailers and today we discussed how to further strengthen these partnerships, the game-changing role of Live Facial Recognition technology across the West End and the rollout of new IT platforms to deter and bring criminals to justice to build a safer London for everyone.”
Chris Brook-Carter, chief executive of the Retail Trust, said:
“This action plan shows how seriously the police and retailers are taking their shared responsibility to tackle retail crime, improve reporting and ensure shop workers are properly supported.
“Retail workers need to know that every incident of theft, violence or abuse will be treated with urgency and that they will never be left to deal with the consequences alone. Looking after the people affected by crime and abuse is just as important as stronger evidence sharing and tougher action if we are to bring more offenders to justice and make shops safer for everyone.”
