Police taskforce launched to tackle rise in shoplifting

A dedicated police taskforce has been set up in response to a rise in shoplifting and other retail crime in Scotland.

The retail crime taskforce includes 14 uniformed officers and detectives who will operate in Edinburgh, Glasgow and Lanarkshire, which experience the highest levels of such offences.

The team also includes four civilian staff, including specialists analysis.

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

The taskforce, which was funded with £3 million from the Scottish Government, will support other police units in their actions to prevent retail crime, as well as helping shops protect their premises against criminals.

It will target repeat offenders by using analytical data and intelligence to carry out “proactive” enforcement in the most heavily affected areas.

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 crime 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.”

Police Scotland explained that the taskforce will work alongside a “range” of stakeholders to deliver a “four-strand approach to tackling retail crime – prevent, pursue, protect and prepare”.

Part of the £3 million funding will also be spent on developing “diversionary programmes” aimed at reducing reoffending and youth offending.

Mr Mairs continued: “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.

“I am grateful to the Scottish Government for the funding allocation that has made this possible and to the agencies who we will work in partnership with to reduce retail crime.”

Community safety minister Siobhian Brown welcomed the establishment of the taskforce, which she said had been “enabled” by additional Scottish Government funding.

She went on: “This is in addition to a Budget investment of a record £1.62 billion for policing – an increase of £70 million on 2024-25.

“Retail crime causes significant harm and disruption to individuals and businesses, and I am pleased that this taskforce will work to prevent this type of crime from occurring and to ensure that when it does happen, perpetrators are brought to justice.”

Lucy Brown, chairwoman of the Scottish Retail Strategy Industry Leadership Council, said: “While we all know there’s no silver bullet to resolve retail crime, we are very pleased to be here today to support the launch of this new investment.

“We look forward to continuing to work collaboratively with Police Scotland and the Scottish Government in the coming months and to seeing the results of the investment.”