The Fed welcomes new law to tackle retail crime

After years of campaigning and lobbying the government to make a serious commitment to tackling retail crime, the Federation of Independent Retailers (the Fed) is pleased to see that the Crime and Policing Bill has finally received Royal Assent and is now established in law.

As a trade organisation representing more than 8,000 smaller retailers, the Fed has relayed to politicians and police and crime commissioners time and time again that retail crime, including violence, theft and harassment, are of deep concern its members – more so now than ever.

Despite a small reduction in the number of recorded shoplifting offences, the latest figures released by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) on April 23 remain shocking, with 509,566 recorded offences in the year ending December 2025.

The Fed’s National President Hetal Patel said: “Theft is traumatic for shopkeepers and their staff, and a social blight. But it also imposes a series of direct and indirect economic costs for shops in terms of lost stock and expensive security measures, which undermine their financial viability.

“For these reasons, the measures contained within the Act, particularly the removal of the ridiculous £200 threshold for theft and the introduction of a standalone offence of assaulting a shopworker – with a possible prison sentence of six months – are welcome and long overdue.

“More broadly, we will continue to call for more active intervention from Community Policing teams, so that these issues are taken more seriously and that shoplifting is no longer widely regarded as a victimless crime.”

He added: “For too long, there has been a lack of police presence in communities, giving thieves and those who indulge in anti-social behaviour carte blanche to carry on unpunished.

“Therefore, the government’s Neighbourhood Policing Guarantee to deliver an additional 13,000 neighbourhood officers by the end of this parliament is another positive step.”

The Home Office says the new powers for police and the wider criminal justice system will help realise this government’s mission to restore confidence in policing.

Mr Patel said: “What independent retailers want to see now is effective, direct action to curb the scourge of retail crime, and the police and courts to carry out the measures in the Crime and Policing Act to prosecute and deter criminals.

“We will continue to work closely with the government on the application of measures in the Act and push for targeted retail security grants to be introduced, so that small retailers can afford expensive security enhancements like next generation CCTV and other measures to keep their shops secure.”