Met Police and major retailers agree Action Plan on tackling retail crime

Retailers and police officers agreed the priorities for improved partnership working to reduce crime and deliver stronger outcomes for the High Street. The Action Plan focuses on improving evidence sharing, supporting each other through the criminal justice process and affording greater priority to retail crime.

Police officers have agreed to:

*prioritise attendance at 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 have agreed to:

*ensure high quality evidence (including surveillance 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 Service is the largest police force in the country, responsible for policing in the capital. As the largest city in the country, London accounts for approximately one-fifth of all retail crime incidents.

Met officers actually made almost 50% more arrests in relation to retail offences in 2025-2026, while the positive outcome rate for retail crime – which is a charge or caution – rose by 123% to 5,996.

Boosting collaboration 

Helen Dickinson OBE, CEO at the British Retail Consortium, said: “We hope this Action Plan can boost collaboration between retailers and the Metropolitan Police Service. Working together and sharing intelligence is essential for tackling the scourge of retail crime. Theft already costs shops hundreds of millions of pounds every year. It’s money that would be better spent investing in lower prices and improving the customer experience.”

Dickinson added: “The Crime and Policing Act offers the police new powers to clamp down on criminals. It’s essential that offenders are prosecuted to the full extent of the law. Better intelligence sharing, improved reporting and robust enforcement are critical to turning the tide on retail crime once and for all.”

Matt Twist, Assistant Commissioner for front line policing at the Metropolitan Police Service, observed: “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. These latest discussions are another step forward in the right direction.”

Twist added: “By putting more officers into our neighbourhoods, we have cut shoplifting offences by nearly 4%, 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 and bring offenders to justice.”

Driving down theft

Kaya Comer-Schwartz, Deputy Mayor for Policing and Crime, explained: “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 crack down on prolific offenders and ensure London is a no-go zone for shoplifting and anti-social behaviour.”

Further, Comer-Schwartz noted: “We’ve built excellent working relationships with retailers and discussed how to further strengthen these partnerships. We’ve also talked about the game-changing role of live facial recognition technology across the West End and the roll-out of new IT platforms to deter and bring criminals to justice, in turn building a safer London for everyone.”

Chris Brook-Carter, CEO of The Retail Trust, stated: “This Action Plan shows how seriously the police and retailers are taking their shared responsibility to tackle retail crime, improve reporting and ensure that shop workers are properly supported.”

Brook-Carter added: “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.”