The retail sector has welcomed the Chancellor’s announcement of an extra £2bn in police funding to help curb rising crime levels.
During her speech in the Spending Review today, Chancellor Rachel Reeves announced the policing budget will increase by 2.3% per year above inflation over the review period, in line with the baseline for other departments.
“I am increasing police spending power by an average 2.3% per year in real terms over the spending review period to protect our people, our homes and our streets,” she said.
“That is more than £2bn supporting us to meet our Plan for Change commitment of putting 13,000 additional police officers, PCSOs and special constables into neighbourhood policing roles across England and Wales.”
Trade bodies and unions have said the “vital” funding will help to address incidents of theft, violence and abuse that continue to wreak havoc on the sector.
“With the huge rise in retail theft and the continued impact of violence and abuse on retail colleagues, we welcome the announcement of an extra £2bn for policing, and we support the plan for an additional 13,000 neighbourhood police,” said BRC director of business and regulation Tom Ironside.
“The Chancellor wants people to feel safer on their high street, and it is vital that some of the additional policing resources are focused on addressing both violence and abuse in retail, with over 2,000 incidents every day, and shoplifting, which costs retailers and their customers over £4bn a year.”
Usdaw general secretary Paddy Lillis said: “Usdaw has long campaigned for legislative measures to combat the growing problem of retail crime, theft from shops and the abuse of retail staff; that is now being delivered through the Crime and Policing Bill. Today we have heard the Chancellor’s choice to put the necessary money behind these legislative protections for retail workers, to help improve the police response to retail crime and ensure more criminals are prosecuted.”
The Association of Convenience Stores has also praised the additional £80m per year for smoking cessation and enforcement, linked to the introduction of the Tobacco and Vapes Bill, in order to support “drastically under-resourced” Trading Standards.
Research conducted for ACS last year showed that Trading Standards teams would need at least £140m over the next five years to deal with illicit vapes alone, with £30m required this year.
ACS CEO James Lowman said: “Retailers are losing confidence in the ability of the justice system to make a difference to the level of crime that they experience on a regular basis, both in terms of direct impact through theft, abuse and violence, as well as indirectly through losses to rogue traders selling illicit goods.
“The investment in enforcement of the tobacco and vapes market is long overdue and will be welcomed by all responsible retailers who are sick of seeing rogue operators trading with impunity in their communities. This must change, and if the £80m announced for smoking cessation and enforcement is properly allocated to the front line, it could make a real difference. We must prioritise resources to shore up the most basic principles of the rule of law, to support those who follow it and intervene against those who don’t.”
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