Wholesale Trade: Theft
(asked on 19th October 2023) - View Source
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent assessment she has made of trends in the level of thefts of (a) tobacco and alcohol and (b) other stock within the wholesale sector; and if she will meet with the Federation of Wholesale Distributors to discuss steps to reduce these levels.
The Home Office collects and publishes data on the most commonly stolen items in theft incidents for all sectors, combined, as part of the Commercial Victimisation Survey (CVS). The data was most recently published in May 2023 and is available at:
The sample size of the CVS is not large enough to yield reliable estimates and to assess trends in specific items that are stolen of the Wholesale sector specifically.
The Home Office works closely with retailers and trade organisations, 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. The Federation of Wholesale Distributors is represented on the NRCSG.
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 NBCC has published guidance on how to prevent wholesale and warehouse thefts on its website: NBCC National Business Crime Centre