Question to the Home Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government what discussions there have been between police forces in England and Wales and retailers about levels of shop theft in town centres; and whether there are any plans to base police officers in town centre stores with facilities provided by retailers.

Shop theft continues to increase at an unacceptable level. We will not stand for this.

Chief Constables have operational independence to tackle the crimes that matter most to their communities including where their officers are based.

However, we are committed to harnessing the collective power of Government, law enforcement and businesses to bear down on retail crime. That is why we are backing the Tackling Retail Crime Together strategy, jointly developed by the police and the private sector. This collaborative approach brings together industry knowledge and experience with policing powers, fostering the local and national partnerships that will make a real difference in local areas.

But we want to go further and faster, which is why the Home Secretary recently announced a “Winter of Action”, building on the success of our Safer Streets Summer campaign to tackle town centre crime including shop theft and anti-social behaviour. We are in the final stages of preparing the Winter of Action. Our aim is to ensure that it reflects the shared priorities of all our partners to enable a truly collaborative approach to delivery.