Asked by: Lord Dholakia (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they plan to require police to record the value of stolen goods in cases of “low-value shoplifting” within the meaning of the Anti-social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
Under the previous Government, shop theft soared to record highs and it continues to increase at an unacceptable level, with more and more offenders using violence and abuse against shopworkers. We will not stand for this.
The Government will introduce a new offence of assaulting a retail worker to protect the hardworking and dedicated staff that work in stores.
Section 176 of the Anti-social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2024 has created the perception that offenders and would-be offenders can get away with shop theft of goods of and under £200. We will repeal the relevant provision relating to "low value shoplifting", ensuring the police treat shop theft of any value in the same way, whilst sending a clear message that any level of shop theft is illegal. We will continue to work closely with the police to combat retail crime, including through our Retail Crime Forum.
As set out in the Autumn Budget 2024, we will provide £100k of additional funding next financial year for the National Police Chiefs' Council to give further training to police and retailers on prevention tactics. We will also invest £2 million over the next three years in the National Business Crime Centre (NBCC) which provides a resource for both police and businesses to learn, share and support each other to prevent and combat crime. This will build on funding provided this financial year to the Police Crime Prevention Initiatives, for development of training materials for both police and retailers to help combat retail crime and promote partnership working.
Asked by: Lord Dholakia (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether new police recruits will be trained on the impact of retail crime on victims.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
Under the previous Government, shop theft soared to record highs and it continues to increase at an unacceptable level, with more and more offenders using violence and abuse against shopworkers. We will not stand for this.
The Government will introduce a new offence of assaulting a retail worker to protect the hardworking and dedicated staff that work in stores.
Section 176 of the Anti-social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2024 has created the perception that offenders and would-be offenders can get away with shop theft of goods of and under £200. We will repeal the relevant provision relating to "low value shoplifting", ensuring the police treat shop theft of any value in the same way, whilst sending a clear message that any level of shop theft is illegal. We will continue to work closely with the police to combat retail crime, including through our Retail Crime Forum.
As set out in the Autumn Budget 2024, we will provide £100k of additional funding next financial year for the National Police Chiefs' Council to give further training to police and retailers on prevention tactics. We will also invest £2 million over the next three years in the National Business Crime Centre (NBCC) which provides a resource for both police and businesses to learn, share and support each other to prevent and combat crime. This will build on funding provided this financial year to the Police Crime Prevention Initiatives, for development of training materials for both police and retailers to help combat retail crime and promote partnership working.
Asked by: Lord Dholakia (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the number of businesses that have been refused insurance because of incidents of retail crime.
Answered by Lord Livermore - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government has not made an assessment. Insurers make decisions about the terms on which they will offer cover following an assessment of the relevant risks. This is usually informed by the insurer’s claims experience and other industry-wide statistics. Individual insurers may take a different view of the relevant factors in determining whether to offer insurance and at what price.
However, the Government recognises that shop theft continues to increase at an unacceptable level, with more and more offenders using violence and abuse against shopworkers to do this.
The Government will introduce a new offence of assaulting a retail worker to protect hardworking and dedicated staff, and end the effective immunity that has been granted to shop theft of goods under £200. As set out in the Autumn Budget 2024, the Government also will provide over £7 million over the next three financial years to help police tackle retail crime and support local businesses.