Industry leaders gathered at Mitie’s Intelligent Security Operations Centre (ISOC) in Northampton for a Ministerial address to launch the new retail crime strategy ‘Tackling Retail Crime Together’. 

The Minister appealed for more retailers to support the new strategy which complements the Government’s Safer Streets mission and has been developed collaboratively by partners from the Home Office, retail sector, security industry, policing and academia to shift the dial on retail crime. Initiatives include a new ‘Fusion Cell’ model to identify threats, a clamp down on organised crime and offender management programme. 

Dame Diana Johnson, Minister of State for Crime, Policing and Fire, was joined by senior representatives from policing, retail and security at Mitie’s Intelligent Security Operations Centre (ISOC) in Northampton for the industry launch of a new retail crime strategy, ‘Tackling Retail Crime Together’ on 14 July.

The strategy will be a new blueprint for the delivery of the safe, vibrant, growing retail sector that communities deserve, complementing the Government’s Safer Streets mission and has been developed collaboratively by partners from across the retail sector, security industry, policing, academia and the Home Office.

Alongside the Ministerial address, speakers included Superintendent Lisa Maslen, City of London Police; Ed Woodall, Government Relations Director, Association of Convenience Stores; and Jason Towse, Managing Director, Business Services, Mitie. The Minister called for more retailers to join the collaboration and support the new strategy, which includes:   

• The development of a ‘Fusion Cell’: The building of a model to fuse retailer knowledge with policing powers, to enable effective identification, assessment and management of criminal threats to the safety and security of retailers. A six-monthly assessment will be published outlines, current, emerging and predicted trends and outcomes from previous activities
• A continued clamp down on organised retail crime: The sharing of intelligence relating to organised criminality to policing so they can investigate, arrest and work with the Crown Prosecution Service to achieve criminal justice outcomes
• The identification of high harm places: Assessing harm to places to allow plans to be developed that target the root cause of criminality with the intent of achieving a sustainable reduction in risk to retailers
  Offender management: Interventions that address the different motivations of those with the intent and capability to commit crime 

As the strategy is put into practice, new and evidence-based tactics will be put to the test with outputs and outcomes tracked and publicised. Areas of commonality between industry and policing that require a consistent approach to their application will be established and guidance and support will be offered for the implementation of these standards. 

Crime and Policing Minister, Dame Diana Johnson said: "For too long, retail crime has been dismissed as 'low level' whilst businesses suffer and communities lose confidence in their local high streets. Our Safer Streets Summer Initiative will see increased police patrols and local action in over 500 town centres this summer, and we are bringing in new laws to protect retail workers from assault and put an end to the effective decriminalisation of shop theft under £200.”

“This new retail crime strategy demonstrates what can be achieved when government, police and the retail sector work in partnership and is another vital step in our fight back against this corrosive crime."

Edward Woodall, Government Relations Director, Association of Convenience Stores (ACS) said: “Retail crime is not victimless, it harms local retailers, the people they employ, and the communities they serve. Tackling retail crime requires coordinated action, and this strategy is a vital step forward. We’re proud to support a plan that puts the safety of retailers and their colleagues at the heart of the response.”

Katy Bourne OBE (PCC for Sussex) and Andy Dunbobbin (PCC for North Wales), APCC Joint Leads on Business and Retail Crime said: “This strategy is an acknowledgement of the urgent need to focus on tackling unacceptable levels of shop theft and violence against retail workers. We are delighted that the success of the Police and Crime Commissioner-led Pegasus partnership of retailers, home office and police has been recognised and is being built upon. Through the work of Pegasus and policing’s Opal team, a hugely effective, data-led and intelligence-sharing approach has been developed that focuses on organised retail crime gangs with greater police and retailer working at its heart.”