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.

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.