Senior leaders from the Metropolitan Police Service, the Mayor’s Office for Policing and Crime and some of the UK’s largest retailers have agreed a new action plan aimed at tackling retail crime across London.
The agreement follows a roundtable held at New Scotland Yard and sets out a series of commitments designed to improve collaboration between police and retailers, strengthen evidence sharing and increase the focus on tackling shoplifting, violence against shopworkers and organised retail crime.
Helen Dickinson, Chief Executive of the British Retail Consortium, said: “Working together and sharing intelligence is essential to tackling the scourge of retail crime. Better intelligence sharing, improving reporting and robust enforcement are critical to turning the tide on retail crime once and for all.”
Under the plan, the Metropolitan Police will prioritise attendance at violent retail incidents and cases where offenders have been detained, improve communication with retailers on the progress of investigations and target prolific offenders and organised crime groups.
Retailers have committed to preserving and sharing high-quality evidence, including CCTV and body-worn camera footage, providing police with a single point of contact and ensuring employees are given time to support criminal investigations and prosecutions.
The Metropolitan Police said it made almost 50% more arrests for retail crime during 2025/26, while the number of cases resulting in a charge or caution increased by 123% to 5,996.
Matt Twist, Assistant Commissioner for Frontline Policing, said the force remained committed to working closely with retailers, adding that effective evidence sharing was “crucial in building strong cases and stopping offenders”.
Chris Brook-Carter, Chief Executive of the Retail Trust, welcomed the initiative, saying retail workers needed confidence that every incident of theft, violence or abuse would be treated seriously and that those affected would receive appropriate support.
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