Shoplifting has increased at an unacceptable level in recent years, with more and more offenders using violence and abuse against shopworkers to do this. We will not stand for this. Everybody has a right to feel safe on the job.

To that end, this Government will end the effective immunity, introduced by the previous Government, granted to low level shoplifting of goods under £200.

We will also introduce a new offence of assaulting a retail worker to protect the hardworking and dedicated staff that work in stores.

We encourage closer local partnerships between police and retailers ensuring action can be taken, including reporting crime and considering what appropriate action, including non-custodial interventions, can be taken. We urge retailers to join their local Business Crime Reduction Partnership (BCRP) or Business Improvement District (BID) to support local community efforts to reduce retail crime.

The Home Office supports Pegasus, a unique private-public partnership, that is improving the way retailers share intelligence with policing, to better understand the tactics used by organised retail crime gangs and identify more offenders.

The Home Office collects and publishes information on the number of shoplifting offences recorded by the police in England and Wales on a quarterly basis. There have been approximately 1.5 million shoplifting offences recorded in England in the last 5 years, of which 7737 were for the York area.

We are committed to preventing young people being lured into crime, drugs and criminal gangs and the Government has made clear its commitment to introduce a new offence to tackle child criminal exploitation.

County Lines is the most violent model of drug supply and a harmful form of Child Criminal Exploitation. The County Lines Programme is funded by the Home Office to tackle this, resulting in over 5,600 county line closures, 16,500 arrests and 8,800 safeguarding referrals

Shoplifting has increased at an unacceptable level in recent years, with more and more offenders using violence and abuse against shopworkers to do this. We will not stand for this. Everybody has a right to feel safe on the job.

To that end, this Government will end the effective immunity, introduced by the previous Government, granted to low level shoplifting of goods under £200.

We will also introduce a new offence of assaulting a retail worker to protect the hardworking and dedicated staff that work in stores.

We encourage closer local partnerships between police and retailers ensuring action can be taken, including reporting crime and considering what appropriate action, including non-custodial interventions, can be taken. We urge retailers to join their local Business Crime Reduction Partnership (BCRP) or Business Improvement District (BID) to support local community efforts to reduce retail crime.

The Home Office supports Pegasus, a unique private-public partnership, that is improving the way retailers share intelligence with policing, to better understand the tactics used by organised retail crime gangs and identify more offenders.

The Home Office collects and publishes information on the number of shoplifting offences recorded by the police in England and Wales on a quarterly basis. There have been approximately 1.5 million shoplifting offences recorded in England in the last 5 years, of which 7737 were for the York area.

We are committed to preventing young people being lured into crime, drugs and criminal gangs and the Government has made clear its commitment to introduce a new offence to tackle child criminal exploitation.

County Lines is the most violent model of drug supply and a harmful form of Child Criminal Exploitation. The County Lines Programme is funded by the Home Office to tackle this, resulting in over 5,600 county line closures, 16,500 arrests and 8,800 safeguarding referrals

Shoplifting has increased at an unacceptable level in recent years, with more and more offenders using violence and abuse against shopworkers to do this. We will not stand for this. Everybody has a right to feel safe on the job.

To that end, this Government will end the effective immunity, introduced by the previous Government, granted to low level shoplifting of goods under £200.

We will also introduce a new offence of assaulting a retail worker to protect the hardworking and dedicated staff that work in stores.

We encourage closer local partnerships between police and retailers ensuring action can be taken, including reporting crime and considering what appropriate action, including non-custodial interventions, can be taken. We urge retailers to join their local Business Crime Reduction Partnership (BCRP) or Business Improvement District (BID) to support local community efforts to reduce retail crime.

The Home Office supports Pegasus, a unique private-public partnership, that is improving the way retailers share intelligence with policing, to better understand the tactics used by organised retail crime gangs and identify more offenders.

The Home Office collects and publishes information on the number of shoplifting offences recorded by the police in England and Wales on a quarterly basis. There have been approximately 1.5 million shoplifting offences recorded in England in the last 5 years, of which 7737 were for the York area.

We are committed to preventing young people being lured into crime, drugs and criminal gangs and the Government has made clear its commitment to introduce a new offence to tackle child criminal exploitation.

County Lines is the most violent model of drug supply and a harmful form of Child Criminal Exploitation. The County Lines Programme is funded by the Home Office to tackle this, resulting in over 5,600 county line closures, 16,500 arrests and 8,800 safeguarding referrals

Shoplifting has increased at an unacceptable level in recent years, with more and more offenders using violence and abuse against shopworkers to do this. We will not stand for this. Everybody has a right to feel safe on the job.

To that end, this Government will end the effective immunity, introduced by the previous Government, granted to low level shoplifting of goods under £200.

We will also introduce a new offence of assaulting a retail worker to protect the hardworking and dedicated staff that work in stores.

We encourage closer local partnerships between police and retailers ensuring action can be taken, including reporting crime and considering what appropriate action, including non-custodial interventions, can be taken. We urge retailers to join their local Business Crime Reduction Partnership (BCRP) or Business Improvement District (BID) to support local community efforts to reduce retail crime.

The Home Office supports Pegasus, a unique private-public partnership, that is improving the way retailers share intelligence with policing, to better understand the tactics used by organised retail crime gangs and identify more offenders.

The Home Office collects and publishes information on the number of shoplifting offences recorded by the police in England and Wales on a quarterly basis. There have been approximately 1.5 million shoplifting offences recorded in England in the last 5 years, of which 7737 were for the York area.

We are committed to preventing young people being lured into crime, drugs and criminal gangs and the Government has made clear its commitment to introduce a new offence to tackle child criminal exploitation.

County Lines is the most violent model of drug supply and a harmful form of Child Criminal Exploitation. The County Lines Programme is funded by the Home Office to tackle this, resulting in over 5,600 county line closures, 16,500 arrests and 8,800 safeguarding referrals

Any individual is entitled, and should be encouraged, to report anything they believe to be criminal behaviour, however they became aware of it, to the police.

Section 12 of the Police Reform Act 2022 sets out that to use the police complaints system, a person (member of the public) must have been adversely impacted by the events about which they complain.

The Home Office are responsible for policy and legislation on the reporting of crime and complaints to the Independent Office for Police Conduct.

The Home Office holds data on the number of offences recorded by the police in England and Wales, and collects and publishes data on crime affecting commercial business premises, including retail premises, in England and Wales as part of the Commercial Victimisation Survey.

Neither data source provides the level of detail necessary to identify crimes that take place in community pharmacies.

The Commercial Victimisation Survey provides the most reliable estimate of crime impacting wholesale and retail premises in England and Wales. The most recent available data, for the year 2022, is available online:

https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/crime-against-businesses-findings-from-the-2022-commercial-victimisation-survey.

The National Business Crime Centre has published guidance containing practical advice to help pharmacies identify risks and prevent crime, the guidance is published here: Pharmacies October 22.pdf (nbcc.police.uk).

Short-term lets are an integral part of the UK’s visitor accommodation offer, and the Government is clear that they bring a range of benefits to local and national economies. However, we understand that the growth in short-term lets has also brought challenges, including on the availability and affordability of homes in areas with higher numbers of short-term lets.

With this in mind, and following consultation, the Government has announced its intention to implement a national, mandatory registration scheme across all of England.

We want a light touch, low cost and simple scheme and do not wish to apply disproportionate new regulation on property owners that let out their home infrequently. We will therefore continue to consider the case for the potential application of a threshold in finalising the register.

Work on the detailed design of the scheme will now begin at pace, and in close cooperation with industry. In order to do so, we will be reaching out to representatives of the visitor economy and likely users of the scheme to support this next phase of work.

This initial phase of digital development will allow us to test how the scheme is best delivered and administered. The findings will inform how it is implemented - including on matters such as frequency of registration, which information should be collected and how the data will be used. Further details on how the registration scheme will work will be set out in the government’s response to the consultation, later this year.

On 28 August, the Home Secretary announced that police forces across England and Wales have committed to pursuing all leads where there is a reasonable chance it could result in catching a perpetrator and solving a crime. This commitment applies to all crime types, meaning all material and potential evidence should be considered when there is information to suggest the offender could be identified. New guidelines and updated authorised professional practice on investigation from the College of Policing provide clear direction on applying a consistent standard of service to have the greatest chance of securing a positive outcome for a victim.

His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services will use their existing inspections framework to assess how thoroughly forces are investigating crime, including whether they follow all reasonable lines of enquiry. We will closely monitor their findings and engage closely with the NPCC on implementation of the new College of Policing guidelines and updated authorised professional practice.

Operational decisions are a matter for individual police chiefs and their force, and each incident is looked at on a case-by-case basis on the evidence available and in proportion to the crime. As the locally elected representative for policing, PCCs are responsible for holding their Chief to account for their performance.

Retail crime of any form, including violence and abuse, is not acceptable, and the Government takes this issue very seriously.

The Government has legislated to introduce a statutory aggravating factor for assault against any public facing worker via section 156 of the Police Crime Sentencing and Courts Act 2022. The statutory aggravating factor applies in cases of assault where an offence is committed against those performing a public duty or providing a service to the public and ensures the courts treat the public-facing nature of a victim’s role as an aggravating factor when considering the sentence for an offence.

The Home Office works closely with retailers and trade organisations, including USDAW, and police partners via the National Retail Crime Steering Group (NRCSG) to ensure that the response to crimes affecting the retail sector is as robust as it can be.

On a national level, the Home Office works closely with the police-led National Business Crime Centre (NBCC) to understand the crimes affecting businesses and help ensure businesses and police are working effectively together. The Home Office is committed to working closely with the NBCC on all aspects of business crime and has provided funding to assist with their online retail crime hub which holds vital resource assets for the retail sector, including training packages. Shopworker Videos (nbcc.police.uk)

Further training is available on the British Retail Consortium website, which hosts a dedicated resource page on behalf of the NRCSG and includes valuable links to training to help retail workers de-escalate threatening situations.DE-ESCALATION TRAINING (brc.org.uk)

The Home Office collects and publishes data on crime affecting commercial premises as part of the Commercial Victimisation Survey, which was last published in May 2023 and is available at:

https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/crime-against-businesses-findings-from-the-2022-commercial-victimisation-survey

This includes data on the proportion of premises which experienced a physical assault on their staff, and the responses of the police to reports of crime from commercial premises.

These data provide us with a good understanding of the prevalence to crime against retail premises. The Home Office does not hold data on the number of incidents of retail crime and as such it is not possible to calculate a proportion of retail crime incidents that were attended by the police. The Home Office also holds no information on the number of cases where CCTV or body cam evidence were collected.

Police forces across England and Wales have recently committed to pursuing any available evidence where there is a reasonable chance it could lead them to catching a perpetrator and solving a crime. For retail crime this could include reviewing CCTV evidence to identify suspects or using the Police National Database for facial searches where appropriate to do so.

I encourage the innovative use of new technology including facial recognition, where legal and appropriate. It is for individual retailers to decide what tools to use to prevent retail crime.

Operational decisions will always be a matter for individual police chiefs and their force. This Government has given the police more resources to deal with crimes, including retail crime, and, thanks to our successful uplift programme through which we recruited over 20,000 additional officers, we now have a record number of officers across forces in England and Wales. The specific data requested is not held centrally.

Retail crime of any form, including violence and abuse, is not acceptable, and the Government takes this issue very seriously.

The Government has legislated to introduce a statutory aggravating factor for assault against any public facing worker via section 156 of the Police Crime Sentencing and Courts Act 2022. The statutory aggravating factor applies in cases of assault where an offence is committed against those performing a public duty or providing a service to the public and ensures the courts treat the public-facing nature of a victim’s role as an aggravating factor when considering the sentence for an offence.

The Home Office works closely with retailers and trade organisations, including USDAW, and police partners via the National Retail Crime Steering Group (NRCSG) to ensure that the response to crimes affecting the retail sector is as robust as it can be.

On a national level, the Home Office works closely with the police-led National Business Crime Centre (NBCC) to understand the crimes affecting businesses and help ensure businesses and police are working effectively together. The Home Office is committed to working closely with the NBCC on all aspects of business crime and has provided funding to assist with their online retail crime hub which holds vital resource assets for the retail sector, including training packages. Shopworker Videos (nbcc.police.uk)

Further training is available on the British Retail Consortium website, which hosts a dedicated resource page on behalf of the NRCSG and includes valuable links to training to help retail workers de-escalate threatening situations.DE-ESCALATION TRAINING (brc.org.uk)

The Home Office collects and publishes data on crime affecting commercial premises as part of the Commercial Victimisation Survey, which was last published in May 2023 and is available at:

https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/crime-against-businesses-findings-from-the-2022-commercial-victimisation-survey

This includes data on the proportion of premises which experienced a physical assault on their staff, and the responses of the police to reports of crime from commercial premises.

These data provide us with a good understanding of the prevalence to crime against retail premises. The Home Office does not hold data on the number of incidents of retail crime and as such it is not possible to calculate a proportion of retail crime incidents that were attended by the police. The Home Office also holds no information on the number of cases where CCTV or body cam evidence were collected.

Police forces across England and Wales have recently committed to pursuing any available evidence where there is a reasonable chance it could lead them to catching a perpetrator and solving a crime. For retail crime this could include reviewing CCTV evidence to identify suspects or using the Police National Database for facial searches where appropriate to do so.

I encourage the innovative use of new technology including facial recognition, where legal and appropriate. It is for individual retailers to decide what tools to use to prevent retail crime.

Operational decisions will always be a matter for individual police chiefs and their force. This Government has given the police more resources to deal with crimes, including retail crime, and, thanks to our successful uplift programme through which we recruited over 20,000 additional officers, we now have a record number of officers across forces in England and Wales. The specific data requested is not held centrally.

Retail crime of any form, including violence and abuse, is not acceptable, and the Government takes this issue very seriously.

The Government has legislated to introduce a statutory aggravating factor for assault against any public facing worker via section 156 of the Police Crime Sentencing and Courts Act 2022. The statutory aggravating factor applies in cases of assault where an offence is committed against those performing a public duty or providing a service to the public and ensures the courts treat the public-facing nature of a victim’s role as an aggravating factor when considering the sentence for an offence.

The Home Office works closely with retailers and trade organisations, including USDAW, and police partners via the National Retail Crime Steering Group (NRCSG) to ensure that the response to crimes affecting the retail sector is as robust as it can be.

On a national level, the Home Office works closely with the police-led National Business Crime Centre (NBCC) to understand the crimes affecting businesses and help ensure businesses and police are working effectively together. The Home Office is committed to working closely with the NBCC on all aspects of business crime and has provided funding to assist with their online retail crime hub which holds vital resource assets for the retail sector, including training packages. Shopworker Videos (nbcc.police.uk)

Further training is available on the British Retail Consortium website, which hosts a dedicated resource page on behalf of the NRCSG and includes valuable links to training to help retail workers de-escalate threatening situations.DE-ESCALATION TRAINING (brc.org.uk)

The Home Office collects and publishes data on crime affecting commercial premises as part of the Commercial Victimisation Survey, which was last published in May 2023 and is available at:

https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/crime-against-businesses-findings-from-the-2022-commercial-victimisation-survey

This includes data on the proportion of premises which experienced a physical assault on their staff, and the responses of the police to reports of crime from commercial premises.

These data provide us with a good understanding of the prevalence to crime against retail premises. The Home Office does not hold data on the number of incidents of retail crime and as such it is not possible to calculate a proportion of retail crime incidents that were attended by the police. The Home Office also holds no information on the number of cases where CCTV or body cam evidence were collected.

Police forces across England and Wales have recently committed to pursuing any available evidence where there is a reasonable chance it could lead them to catching a perpetrator and solving a crime. For retail crime this could include reviewing CCTV evidence to identify suspects or using the Police National Database for facial searches where appropriate to do so.

I encourage the innovative use of new technology including facial recognition, where legal and appropriate. It is for individual retailers to decide what tools to use to prevent retail crime.

Operational decisions will always be a matter for individual police chiefs and their force. This Government has given the police more resources to deal with crimes, including retail crime, and, thanks to our successful uplift programme through which we recruited over 20,000 additional officers, we now have a record number of officers across forces in England and Wales. The specific data requested is not held centrally.

Retail crime of any form, including violence and abuse, is not acceptable, and the Government takes this issue very seriously.

The Government has legislated to introduce a statutory aggravating factor for assault against any public facing worker via section 156 of the Police Crime Sentencing and Courts Act 2022. The statutory aggravating factor applies in cases of assault where an offence is committed against those performing a public duty or providing a service to the public and ensures the courts treat the public-facing nature of a victim’s role as an aggravating factor when considering the sentence for an offence.

The Home Office works closely with retailers and trade organisations, including USDAW, and police partners via the National Retail Crime Steering Group (NRCSG) to ensure that the response to crimes affecting the retail sector is as robust as it can be.

On a national level, the Home Office works closely with the police-led National Business Crime Centre (NBCC) to understand the crimes affecting businesses and help ensure businesses and police are working effectively together. The Home Office is committed to working closely with the NBCC on all aspects of business crime and has provided funding to assist with their online retail crime hub which holds vital resource assets for the retail sector, including training packages. Shopworker Videos (nbcc.police.uk)

Further training is available on the British Retail Consortium website, which hosts a dedicated resource page on behalf of the NRCSG and includes valuable links to training to help retail workers de-escalate threatening situations.DE-ESCALATION TRAINING (brc.org.uk)

The Home Office collects and publishes data on crime affecting commercial premises as part of the Commercial Victimisation Survey, which was last published in May 2023 and is available at:

https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/crime-against-businesses-findings-from-the-2022-commercial-victimisation-survey

This includes data on the proportion of premises which experienced a physical assault on their staff, and the responses of the police to reports of crime from commercial premises.

These data provide us with a good understanding of the prevalence to crime against retail premises. The Home Office does not hold data on the number of incidents of retail crime and as such it is not possible to calculate a proportion of retail crime incidents that were attended by the police. The Home Office also holds no information on the number of cases where CCTV or body cam evidence were collected.

Police forces across England and Wales have recently committed to pursuing any available evidence where there is a reasonable chance it could lead them to catching a perpetrator and solving a crime. For retail crime this could include reviewing CCTV evidence to identify suspects or using the Police National Database for facial searches where appropriate to do so.

I encourage the innovative use of new technology including facial recognition, where legal and appropriate. It is for individual retailers to decide what tools to use to prevent retail crime.

Operational decisions will always be a matter for individual police chiefs and their force. This Government has given the police more resources to deal with crimes, including retail crime, and, thanks to our successful uplift programme through which we recruited over 20,000 additional officers, we now have a record number of officers across forces in England and Wales. The specific data requested is not held centrally.

Retail crime of any form, including violence and abuse, is not acceptable, and the Government takes this issue very seriously.

The Government has legislated to introduce a statutory aggravating factor for assault against any public facing worker via section 156 of the Police Crime Sentencing and Courts Act 2022. The statutory aggravating factor applies in cases of assault where an offence is committed against those performing a public duty or providing a service to the public and ensures the courts treat the public-facing nature of a victim’s role as an aggravating factor when considering the sentence for an offence.

The Home Office works closely with retailers and trade organisations, including USDAW, and police partners via the National Retail Crime Steering Group (NRCSG) to ensure that the response to crimes affecting the retail sector is as robust as it can be.

On a national level, the Home Office works closely with the police-led National Business Crime Centre (NBCC) to understand the crimes affecting businesses and help ensure businesses and police are working effectively together. The Home Office is committed to working closely with the NBCC on all aspects of business crime and has provided funding to assist with their online retail crime hub which holds vital resource assets for the retail sector, including training packages. Shopworker Videos (nbcc.police.uk)

Further training is available on the British Retail Consortium website, which hosts a dedicated resource page on behalf of the NRCSG and includes valuable links to training to help retail workers de-escalate threatening situations.DE-ESCALATION TRAINING (brc.org.uk)

The Home Office collects and publishes data on crime affecting commercial premises as part of the Commercial Victimisation Survey, which was last published in May 2023 and is available at:

https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/crime-against-businesses-findings-from-the-2022-commercial-victimisation-survey

This includes data on the proportion of premises which experienced a physical assault on their staff, and the responses of the police to reports of crime from commercial premises.

These data provide us with a good understanding of the prevalence to crime against retail premises. The Home Office does not hold data on the number of incidents of retail crime and as such it is not possible to calculate a proportion of retail crime incidents that were attended by the police. The Home Office also holds no information on the number of cases where CCTV or body cam evidence were collected.

Police forces across England and Wales have recently committed to pursuing any available evidence where there is a reasonable chance it could lead them to catching a perpetrator and solving a crime. For retail crime this could include reviewing CCTV evidence to identify suspects or using the Police National Database for facial searches where appropriate to do so.

I encourage the innovative use of new technology including facial recognition, where legal and appropriate. It is for individual retailers to decide what tools to use to prevent retail crime.

Operational decisions will always be a matter for individual police chiefs and their force. This Government has given the police more resources to deal with crimes, including retail crime, and, thanks to our successful uplift programme through which we recruited over 20,000 additional officers, we now have a record number of officers across forces in England and Wales. The specific data requested is not held centrally.

Retail crime of any form, including violence and abuse, is not acceptable, and the Government takes this issue very seriously.

The Government has legislated to introduce a statutory aggravating factor for assault against any public facing worker via section 156 of the Police Crime Sentencing and Courts Act 2022. The statutory aggravating factor applies in cases of assault where an offence is committed against those performing a public duty or providing a service to the public and ensures the courts treat the public-facing nature of a victim’s role as an aggravating factor when considering the sentence for an offence.

The Home Office works closely with retailers and trade organisations, including USDAW, and police partners via the National Retail Crime Steering Group (NRCSG) to ensure that the response to crimes affecting the retail sector is as robust as it can be.

On a national level, the Home Office works closely with the police-led National Business Crime Centre (NBCC) to understand the crimes affecting businesses and help ensure businesses and police are working effectively together. The Home Office is committed to working closely with the NBCC on all aspects of business crime and has provided funding to assist with their online retail crime hub which holds vital resource assets for the retail sector, including training packages. Shopworker Videos (nbcc.police.uk)

Further training is available on the British Retail Consortium website, which hosts a dedicated resource page on behalf of the NRCSG and includes valuable links to training to help retail workers de-escalate threatening situations.DE-ESCALATION TRAINING (brc.org.uk)

The Home Office collects and publishes data on crime affecting commercial premises as part of the Commercial Victimisation Survey, which was last published in May 2023 and is available at:

https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/crime-against-businesses-findings-from-the-2022-commercial-victimisation-survey

This includes data on the proportion of premises which experienced a physical assault on their staff, and the responses of the police to reports of crime from commercial premises.

These data provide us with a good understanding of the prevalence to crime against retail premises. The Home Office does not hold data on the number of incidents of retail crime and as such it is not possible to calculate a proportion of retail crime incidents that were attended by the police. The Home Office also holds no information on the number of cases where CCTV or body cam evidence were collected.

Police forces across England and Wales have recently committed to pursuing any available evidence where there is a reasonable chance it could lead them to catching a perpetrator and solving a crime. For retail crime this could include reviewing CCTV evidence to identify suspects or using the Police National Database for facial searches where appropriate to do so.

I encourage the innovative use of new technology including facial recognition, where legal and appropriate. It is for individual retailers to decide what tools to use to prevent retail crime.

Operational decisions will always be a matter for individual police chiefs and their force. This Government has given the police more resources to deal with crimes, including retail crime, and, thanks to our successful uplift programme through which we recruited over 20,000 additional officers, we now have a record number of officers across forces in England and Wales. The specific data requested is not held centrally.

Retail crime of any form, including violence and abuse, is not acceptable, and the Government takes this issue very seriously.

The Government has legislated to introduce a statutory aggravating factor for assault against any public facing worker via section 156 of the Police Crime Sentencing and Courts Act 2022. The statutory aggravating factor applies in cases of assault where an offence is committed against those performing a public duty or providing a service to the public and ensures the courts treat the public-facing nature of a victim’s role as an aggravating factor when considering the sentence for an offence.

The Home Office works closely with retailers and trade organisations, including USDAW, and police partners via the National Retail Crime Steering Group (NRCSG) to ensure that the response to crimes affecting the retail sector is as robust as it can be.

On a national level, the Home Office works closely with the police-led National Business Crime Centre (NBCC) to understand the crimes affecting businesses and help ensure businesses and police are working effectively together. The Home Office is committed to working closely with the NBCC on all aspects of business crime and has provided funding to assist with their online retail crime hub which holds vital resource assets for the retail sector, including training packages. Shopworker Videos (nbcc.police.uk)

Further training is available on the British Retail Consortium website, which hosts a dedicated resource page on behalf of the NRCSG and includes valuable links to training to help retail workers de-escalate threatening situations.DE-ESCALATION TRAINING (brc.org.uk)

The Home Office collects and publishes data on crime affecting commercial premises as part of the Commercial Victimisation Survey, which was last published in May 2023 and is available at:

https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/crime-against-businesses-findings-from-the-2022-commercial-victimisation-survey

This includes data on the proportion of premises which experienced a physical assault on their staff, and the responses of the police to reports of crime from commercial premises.

These data provide us with a good understanding of the prevalence to crime against retail premises. The Home Office does not hold data on the number of incidents of retail crime and as such it is not possible to calculate a proportion of retail crime incidents that were attended by the police. The Home Office also holds no information on the number of cases where CCTV or body cam evidence were collected.

Police forces across England and Wales have recently committed to pursuing any available evidence where there is a reasonable chance it could lead them to catching a perpetrator and solving a crime. For retail crime this could include reviewing CCTV evidence to identify suspects or using the Police National Database for facial searches where appropriate to do so.

I encourage the innovative use of new technology including facial recognition, where legal and appropriate. It is for individual retailers to decide what tools to use to prevent retail crime.

Operational decisions will always be a matter for individual police chiefs and their force. This Government has given the police more resources to deal with crimes, including retail crime, and, thanks to our successful uplift programme through which we recruited over 20,000 additional officers, we now have a record number of officers across forces in England and Wales. The specific data requested is not held centrally.

Retail crime of any form, including violence and abuse, is not acceptable, and the Government takes this issue very seriously.

The Government has legislated to introduce a statutory aggravating factor for assault against any public facing worker via section 156 of the Police Crime Sentencing and Courts Act 2022. The statutory aggravating factor applies in cases of assault where an offence is committed against those performing a public duty or providing a service to the public and ensures the courts treat the public-facing nature of a victim’s role as an aggravating factor when considering the sentence for an offence.

The Home Office works closely with retailers and trade organisations, including USDAW, and police partners via the National Retail Crime Steering Group (NRCSG) to ensure that the response to crimes affecting the retail sector is as robust as it can be.

On a national level, the Home Office works closely with the police-led National Business Crime Centre (NBCC) to understand the crimes affecting businesses and help ensure businesses and police are working effectively together. The Home Office is committed to working closely with the NBCC on all aspects of business crime and has provided funding to assist with their online retail crime hub which holds vital resource assets for the retail sector, including training packages. Shopworker Videos (nbcc.police.uk)

Further training is available on the British Retail Consortium website, which hosts a dedicated resource page on behalf of the NRCSG and includes valuable links to training to help retail workers de-escalate threatening situations.DE-ESCALATION TRAINING (brc.org.uk)

The Home Office collects and publishes data on crime affecting commercial premises as part of the Commercial Victimisation Survey, which was last published in May 2023 and is available at:

https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/crime-against-businesses-findings-from-the-2022-commercial-victimisation-survey

This includes data on the proportion of premises which experienced a physical assault on their staff, and the responses of the police to reports of crime from commercial premises.

These data provide us with a good understanding of the prevalence to crime against retail premises. The Home Office does not hold data on the number of incidents of retail crime and as such it is not possible to calculate a proportion of retail crime incidents that were attended by the police. The Home Office also holds no information on the number of cases where CCTV or body cam evidence were collected.

Police forces across England and Wales have recently committed to pursuing any available evidence where there is a reasonable chance it could lead them to catching a perpetrator and solving a crime. For retail crime this could include reviewing CCTV evidence to identify suspects or using the Police National Database for facial searches where appropriate to do so.

I encourage the innovative use of new technology including facial recognition, where legal and appropriate. It is for individual retailers to decide what tools to use to prevent retail crime.

Operational decisions will always be a matter for individual police chiefs and their force. This Government has given the police more resources to deal with crimes, including retail crime, and, thanks to our successful uplift programme through which we recruited over 20,000 additional officers, we now have a record number of officers across forces in England and Wales. The specific data requested is not held centrally.

Retail crime of any form, including violence and abuse, is not acceptable, and the Government takes this issue very seriously.

The Government has legislated to introduce a statutory aggravating factor for assault against any public facing worker via section 156 of the Police Crime Sentencing and Courts Act 2022. The statutory aggravating factor applies in cases of assault where an offence is committed against those performing a public duty or providing a service to the public and ensures the courts treat the public-facing nature of a victim’s role as an aggravating factor when considering the sentence for an offence.

The Home Office works closely with retailers and trade organisations, including USDAW, and police partners via the National Retail Crime Steering Group (NRCSG) to ensure that the response to crimes affecting the retail sector is as robust as it can be.

On a national level, the Home Office works closely with the police-led National Business Crime Centre (NBCC) to understand the crimes affecting businesses and help ensure businesses and police are working effectively together. The Home Office is committed to working closely with the NBCC on all aspects of business crime and has provided funding to assist with their online retail crime hub which holds vital resource assets for the retail sector, including training packages. Shopworker Videos (nbcc.police.uk)

Further training is available on the British Retail Consortium website, which hosts a dedicated resource page on behalf of the NRCSG and includes valuable links to training to help retail workers de-escalate threatening situations.DE-ESCALATION TRAINING (brc.org.uk)

The Home Office collects and publishes data on crime affecting commercial premises as part of the Commercial Victimisation Survey, which was last published in May 2023 and is available at:

https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/crime-against-businesses-findings-from-the-2022-commercial-victimisation-survey

This includes data on the proportion of premises which experienced a physical assault on their staff, and the responses of the police to reports of crime from commercial premises.

These data provide us with a good understanding of the prevalence to crime against retail premises. The Home Office does not hold data on the number of incidents of retail crime and as such it is not possible to calculate a proportion of retail crime incidents that were attended by the police. The Home Office also holds no information on the number of cases where CCTV or body cam evidence were collected.

Police forces across England and Wales have recently committed to pursuing any available evidence where there is a reasonable chance it could lead them to catching a perpetrator and solving a crime. For retail crime this could include reviewing CCTV evidence to identify suspects or using the Police National Database for facial searches where appropriate to do so.

I encourage the innovative use of new technology including facial recognition, where legal and appropriate. It is for individual retailers to decide what tools to use to prevent retail crime.

Operational decisions will always be a matter for individual police chiefs and their force. This Government has given the police more resources to deal with crimes, including retail crime, and, thanks to our successful uplift programme through which we recruited over 20,000 additional officers, we now have a record number of officers across forces in England and Wales. The specific data requested is not held centrally.

Retail crime of any form, including violence and abuse, is not acceptable, and the Government takes this issue very seriously.

The Government has legislated to introduce a statutory aggravating factor for assault against any public facing worker via section 156 of the Police Crime Sentencing and Courts Act 2022. The statutory aggravating factor applies in cases of assault where an offence is committed against those performing a public duty or providing a service to the public and ensures the courts treat the public-facing nature of a victim’s role as an aggravating factor when considering the sentence for an offence.

The Home Office works closely with retailers and trade organisations, including USDAW, and police partners via the National Retail Crime Steering Group (NRCSG) to ensure that the response to crimes affecting the retail sector is as robust as it can be.

On a national level, the Home Office works closely with the police-led National Business Crime Centre (NBCC) to understand the crimes affecting businesses and help ensure businesses and police are working effectively together. The Home Office is committed to working closely with the NBCC on all aspects of business crime and has provided funding to assist with their online retail crime hub which holds vital resource assets for the retail sector, including training packages. Shopworker Videos (nbcc.police.uk)

Further training is available on the British Retail Consortium website, which hosts a dedicated resource page on behalf of the NRCSG and includes valuable links to training to help retail workers de-escalate threatening situations.DE-ESCALATION TRAINING (brc.org.uk)

The Home Office collects and publishes data on crime affecting commercial premises as part of the Commercial Victimisation Survey, which was last published in May 2023 and is available at:

https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/crime-against-businesses-findings-from-the-2022-commercial-victimisation-survey

This includes data on the proportion of premises which experienced a physical assault on their staff, and the responses of the police to reports of crime from commercial premises.

These data provide us with a good understanding of the prevalence to crime against retail premises. The Home Office does not hold data on the number of incidents of retail crime and as such it is not possible to calculate a proportion of retail crime incidents that were attended by the police. The Home Office also holds no information on the number of cases where CCTV or body cam evidence were collected.

Police forces across England and Wales have recently committed to pursuing any available evidence where there is a reasonable chance it could lead them to catching a perpetrator and solving a crime. For retail crime this could include reviewing CCTV evidence to identify suspects or using the Police National Database for facial searches where appropriate to do so.

I encourage the innovative use of new technology including facial recognition, where legal and appropriate. It is for individual retailers to decide what tools to use to prevent retail crime.

Operational decisions will always be a matter for individual police chiefs and their force. This Government has given the police more resources to deal with crimes, including retail crime, and, thanks to our successful uplift programme through which we recruited over 20,000 additional officers, we now have a record number of officers across forces in England and Wales. The specific data requested is not held centrally.

Retail crime of any form, including violence and abuse, is not acceptable, and the Government takes this issue very seriously.

The Government has legislated to introduce a statutory aggravating factor for assault against any public facing worker via section 156 of the Police Crime Sentencing and Courts Act 2022. The statutory aggravating factor applies in cases of assault where an offence is committed against those performing a public duty or providing a service to the public and ensures the courts treat the public-facing nature of a victim’s role as an aggravating factor when considering the sentence for an offence.

The Home Office works closely with retailers and trade organisations, including USDAW, and police partners via the National Retail Crime Steering Group (NRCSG) to ensure that the response to crimes affecting the retail sector is as robust as it can be.

On a national level, the Home Office works closely with the police-led National Business Crime Centre (NBCC) to understand the crimes affecting businesses and help ensure businesses and police are working effectively together. The Home Office is committed to working closely with the NBCC on all aspects of business crime and has provided funding to assist with their online retail crime hub which holds vital resource assets for the retail sector, including training packages. Shopworker Videos (nbcc.police.uk)

Further training is available on the British Retail Consortium website, which hosts a dedicated resource page on behalf of the NRCSG and includes valuable links to training to help retail workers de-escalate threatening situations.DE-ESCALATION TRAINING (brc.org.uk)

The Home Office collects and publishes data on crime affecting commercial premises as part of the Commercial Victimisation Survey, which was last published in May 2023 and is available at:

https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/crime-against-businesses-findings-from-the-2022-commercial-victimisation-survey

This includes data on the proportion of premises which experienced a physical assault on their staff, and the responses of the police to reports of crime from commercial premises.

These data provide us with a good understanding of the prevalence to crime against retail premises. The Home Office does not hold data on the number of incidents of retail crime and as such it is not possible to calculate a proportion of retail crime incidents that were attended by the police. The Home Office also holds no information on the number of cases where CCTV or body cam evidence were collected.

Police forces across England and Wales have recently committed to pursuing any available evidence where there is a reasonable chance it could lead them to catching a perpetrator and solving a crime. For retail crime this could include reviewing CCTV evidence to identify suspects or using the Police National Database for facial searches where appropriate to do so.

I encourage the innovative use of new technology including facial recognition, where legal and appropriate. It is for individual retailers to decide what tools to use to prevent retail crime.

Operational decisions will always be a matter for individual police chiefs and their force. This Government has given the police more resources to deal with crimes, including retail crime, and, thanks to our successful uplift programme through which we recruited over 20,000 additional officers, we now have a record number of officers across forces in England and Wales. The specific data requested is not held centrally.

There is a twin-track approach. There is a comprehensive effort to ensure more addicted people get treatment, being diverted to it from police custody, from the court system and when they leave prison. As I say, there is an extra £582 million over three years. We are in the second of those three years at the moment.

But enforcement, particularly against drug gangs and organised criminal gangs, is important at the border and in the case of county lines. It is a twin-track approach: enforcement, together with treatment.