New retail crime strategy developed by Thames Valley Police

A new strategy to tackle retail crime has been developed through a partnership between retailers, business groups and Thames Valley Police.

Unveiled by Police and Crime Commissioner Matthew Barber, the Retail Crime Strategy sets out actions to tackle shoplifting, retail crime and violence towards shop workers.

Aiming to support businesses and create a hostile environment for those who commit crimes in the local economy, the strategy focuses on six key pillars: Intelligence, Enforcement, Partnership, Prevention, Justice and Reassurance.

Part of the strategy includes the formation of a team that is focused on retail crime. The Business Crime Team will be assembled within the Assessment and Investigation Unit (AIU), consisting of twenty-one police officers, three Investigation Support Officers and led by an Inspector. This team is expected to lead on investigations and identify prolific offenders, but also be able to develop best practice to share across the Force to other officers dealing with business crime.

Commenting on the strategy, Barber said: “Many people see retail crime as a victimless crime, but it has a profound impact on retail staff, customers and the wider economy.

“My new Retail Crime Strategy sets out a series of tangible actions to help redress the balance. It includes the creation of a Business Crime Team within Thames Valley Police to improve investigations and identify prolific offenders and, with the rollout of Operation Purchase, the Force’s operational response to retail crime, increasing the visible presence of police officers and PCSOs in retail spaces as well as improving the officer response to reports, particularly incidents involving violence towards staff.

“A core aim of the strategy is to enhance the collaboration between businesses and the police to better tackle retail crime in addition to the policing response. To help facilitate this my office will soon be providing access to Disc – an online information-sharing and reporting platform which allows retailers to report and access information about crime such as shoplifting and anti-social behaviour (ASB). The system, which can be accessed as an app, also makes reporting to the police faster and more efficient as users can submit a crime report directly through the platform, removing the need to call 101.”

Assistant Chief Constable for Thames Valley Police Christian Bunt said: “Thames Valley Police is supporting the launch of the Retail Crime Strategy alongside the Police and Crime Commissioner, Matthew Barber. Over the last few months TVP has developed operational plans which will be led by our neighbourhood policing teams and our new Business Crime Team who will specialise in retail crime investigations.

“We understand the frustrations of the retail sector and hope that by introducing this new strategy, we can continue to work collaboratively with our partners and wider criminal justice system to bring offenders to justice.”

Chief executive of the Association of Convenience Stores (ACS), James Lowman praised the strategy. “We are delighted to see the Police & Crime Commissioner prioritising retail crime and making it clear that shop theft and violence against shop workers will not be tolerated.

“Partnership working and information sharing are the keys to making this strategy work, and we want all retailers to engage with the police, report all crime and work together to identify and apprehend the prolific repeat offenders who blight communities.”