Met Police and retailers unite on new action plan to tackle retail crime

The Metropolitan Police and major UK retailers have agreed on an action plan to help tackle retail crime in London.

Senior leaders from the Metropolitan Police, the Mayor’s Office for Policing and Crime (MOPAC), and around 20 retail organisations gathered at a roundtable on 1 July, where retailers and police agreed on an action plan aimed at improving evidence sharing, supporting one another throughout the criminal justice process and giving greater priority to retail crime.

The Met Police has agreed to prioritise attendance at violent retail incidents and those where an offender has been detained, improve updates to retailers on the progress and outcomes of reported crimes, and focus enforcement on prolific offenders and organised crime groups.

Retailers agreed to ensure high quality evidence, including CCTV and body-worn camera footage, is preserved and shared, provide police with a single point of contact to reduce delays, and give colleagues the necessary time to support the criminal justice process.

The Metropolitan Police, which is responsible for policing the capital, accounts for around a fifth of all retail crime incidents in the UK. The force made almost 50% more arrests in 2025/2026, while the positive outcome rate for retail crime, which is a charge or caution, rose by 123%, to 5,996.

Helen Dickinson, Chief Executive at the British Retail Consortium, said: “Working together and sharing intelligence is essential to tackling the scourge of retail crime.”

“Theft already costs shops hundreds of millions of pounds every year – money that would be better spent investing in lower prices and improving the customer experience."

Matt Twist, Assistant Commissioner for Frontline Policing at the Metropolitan Police, added: “Sharing evidence is crucial in building strong cases and stopping offenders, we will continue to work with business to ensure incidents are reported to bring those offenders to justice.”

Kaya Comer-Schwartz, Deputy Mayor for Policing and Crime, said the roundtable also discussed the role of Live Facial Recognition technology across the West End and the rollout of new IT platforms to deter and bring criminals to justice.

The action plan follows the May 2026 launch of the High Street Organised Crime Unit to tackle gang-related retail crime on Britain’s high streets.