Taskforce builds retailer confidence but more work to be done
POLICE Scotland‘s Retail Crime Taskforce has reported it has made over 1,300 arrests within its first year of operations.
Since it launched in April 2025, the dedicated unit has resulted in over 6,400 charges for retail crime, with the detection rate having risen to just under 51% – up from the 49% that was found the previous year.
Inspector Emma Wright, tactical lead for the Retail Crime Taskforce, said: “There have been successes across the country in the first 12 months of the Taskforce as part of our ongoing efforts to tackle retail crime.
“The efforts of the unit and work carried out by local divisions has resulted in a significant number of detections of both shoplifting offences and offences against retail workers.”
The dedicated retail crime unit was established following an initial £3million funding allocation from the Scottish Government to address the rise in incidents across the sector, including shoplifting and assault of workers.
The Scottish Government has announced an additional £9million in funding to Police Scotland to continue the Taskforce’s over the next three years, meaning it will be able to continue operating until at least 2029.
Police Scotland said the Taskforce has employed a four-strand approach to tackle rising retail crime to prevent, pursue, protect and prepare.
Despite the success found through this approach, Scotland continues to experience an ongoing rise in retail crime, with theft by shoplifting offences having risen by 19% in comparison to last year, according to Police Scotland.
To address this further, the Taskforce has cemented its commitment to working alongside local policing divisions and a range of key partners and stakeholders to improve on-site security for retail premises, enhance the safety of store owners and their staff as well as increase the confidence in the Taskforce across the retail sector.
Wright said: “While we continue to see an increase in the number of shopliftings reported, there are indications that this is in part due to an increased confidence in reporting from retailers and the resulting police response.
“The additional three years of funding received from the Scottish Government will enable us to continue our efforts to reduce shoplifting and provide support and education to businesses across the country.
“We want to thank retailers for their continued support and engagement as we collaboratively tackle the issue of retail crime.
“We cannot and will not become complacent and we recognise that further work is needed to reduce the number of offences occurring across Scotland. We take these offences extremely seriously and through continued partnership working we strive to make our communities a hostile environment for retail crime offenders.”
