Retailers welcome £2bn police boost but warn it won’t solve high street crime
Retail leaders have cautiously welcomed Chancellor Rachel Reeves’ £2bn boost to police funding in this week’s Spending Review, amid mounting pressure to tackle soaring retail crime.
Retail leaders have cautiously welcomed Chancellor Rachel Reeves’ £2bn boost to police funding in this week’s Spending Review, amid mounting pressure to tackle soaring retail crime.
The new measures will increase police spending by an average of 2.3% per year above inflation and aim to recruit 13,000 additional police officers, PCSOs and special constables across England and Wales.
“I am increasing police spending power by an average 2.3% per year in real terms over the spending review period to protect our people, our homes and our streets,” Reeves said. “That is more than £2bn supporting us to meet our Plan for Change commitment.”
Retail trade bodies and unions described the funding as a “vital” step in addressing the rise in shoplifting, violence and abuse faced by store staff.
“With the huge rise in retail theft and the continued impact of violence and abuse on retail colleagues, we welcome the announcement of an extra £2bn for policing, and we support the plan for an additional 13,000 neighbourhood police,” said British Retail Consortium director of business and regulation Tom Ironside.
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“The Chancellor wants people to feel safer on their high street, and it is vital that some of the additional policing resources are focused on addressing both violence and abuse in retail, with over 2,000 incidents every day, and shoplifting, which costs retailers and their customers over £4bn a year.”
Usdaw general secretary Paddy Lillis added: “Usdaw has long campaigned for legislative measures to combat the growing problem of retail crime, theft from shops and the abuse of retail staff; that is now being delivered through the Crime and Policing Bill. Today we have heard the Chancellor’s choice to put the necessary money behind these legislative protections for retail workers, to help improve the police response to retail crime and ensure more criminals are prosecuted.”
However, High Streets Task Force chair Dee Corsi warned the promised funding may not deliver the frontline results needed on the ground.
“Today’s announcement of increased police funding is headline-grabbing, but the detail tells a different story. With the Home Office budget squeezed in the coming years, it’s hard to see how this will deliver the additional on-the-ground policing that our high streets so urgently need,” she said.
“The Chancellor must now go further with her ‘place-based’ approach to delivering safer high streets, taking action so that city centre, flagship high streets – important drivers of growth, jobs and local pride – are not left behind.”
She added: “From Birmingham to the West End, flagship high streets are economic and cultural centres, generating over £50bn a year. Despite this, they continue to face complex challenges around crime and antisocial behaviour.
“We are calling for ring-fenced funding for visible policing at these nationally significant locations, stronger deterrents for prolific offenders, a multi-agency approach to organised crime, and a national reporting framework to bolster business confidence.”
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