Scottish Retail Consortium backs launch of specialist team
THE Scottish Retail Consortium (SRC) has welcomed the launch of Police Scotland’s Retail Crime Taskforce and Action Plan.
It will use the £3million dedicated funding announced in the Scottish Government’s Budget to tackle the problem.
Official data shows thefts from Scottish shops leapt 18% to 43,000 recorded incidents in 2024.
SRC director David Lonsdale said: “Crime against retailers is a scourge on communities across Scotland and soaring levels of thefts from shops is a key factor behind rising levels of abuse and threats towards store workers.
“The financial cost pushes up prices for Scottish shoppers and undermines the health and vitality of our high streets.
“Despite better legal protections for shop workers and record spending by retailers on crime prevention, much more needs to be done to reduce these crimes.
“We applaud the greater prioritisation and funding being given to this and the focus on persistent offenders and organised criminal gangs who target retailers.
“It’s a positive start towards what should be a concerted effort across law enforcement and the criminal justice system to turn the tide on crime against retailers, hopefully with the funding sustained over future years.”
Police Scotland said the taskforce will work alongside key stakkeholders on a four-prong approach to tackling retail crime – prevent, pursue, protect and prepare.
The team is made up of 14 uniformed officers and detectives, as well as four civilian staff, including specialist analysts and an architectural liaison officer.
The uniformed officers will operate within Edinburgh, Glasgow and Lanarkshire, as crime figures show these areas experience the highest levels of retail crime.
Other divisions requiring support with delivering prevention activities and assisting stores protect their premises can request the assistance of specialist taskforce resources.
The taskforce will target repeat offenders of retail crime by using analytical data and intelligence to carry out proactive enforcement activities in areas most heavily impacted.
In Fife Division, several retailers are trialling a process of direct reporting of offences on their premises so police can investigate with more ease and speed.
And in various parts of Scotland, the Digital Evidence Sharing Capability (DESC) will be used wherever possible to secure earlier criminal justice outcomes for those charged with retail crimes.
The architectural liaison officer will engage with retail premises to identify ways in which they can enhance security and crime prevention measures in place and reduce incidents occurring.
Launching the taskforce, assistant chief constable Tim Mairs said: “There is no justification for retail crime and the theft of goods from stores, or the harassment and intimidation of employees is certainly not victimless.
“When such offences take place, it can have a significant impact on retail workers, who then feel unsafe at their place of work. This is not acceptable.
“The establishment of the retail cime taskforce demonstrates our commitment to working alongside key partners and the retail sector to both prevent retail crime occurring, but to conduct thorough and professional enforcement activity to identify those responsible whenever it does arise.
“We know that enforcement alone cannot successfully reduce retail crime and so the partnership approach to safeguarding stores and exploring opportunities to work collaboratively to address the root causes of such offences will play a significant role in the work of the taskforce.”
