Crime on Britain’s high streets is now endemic – visibly seen in the proliferation of criminal shops. Nearly all “dodgy shops” targeted over illegal tobacco or vapes remain open after enforcement action, according to a think-tank’s study of high streets.
Freedom of Information data obtained by the Centre for Social Justice (CSJ) shows that over 4,000 shops had illicit tobacco, cigarettes or vaping products seized in 2025 – almost 1,000 more than in 2024. Yet only eight per cent of offending premises were temporarily closed in 2025. The think-tank points to the Chartered Trading Standards Institute (CTSI) which suspects some mini-marts and vape shops have links to organised crime. Yet councils continue to rely on product seizures, despite evidence that removing illegal stock alone does little to dismantle the criminal business model. In Newham in east London, for example, the think tank found that the council reported seizures of illicit products from 94 shops in 2025 but not a single closure.
A a foreword to the report is Thinus Keeve, Retail Director at Marks & Spencer, who was outspoken about disorder on high streets after a ‘TikTok riot’ on Clapham high street in south London during a spring 2026 school holiday. He complained of those working in shops, banks, restaurants, and pubs ‘facing the same wave of violence and theft’. said: “Every morning I wake up to an email outlining the incidents that have happened in M&S stores the day before. I read about colleagues being bitten and punched, threatened with bottles or knives, and seriously injured while trying to prevent shoplifting. Crime on our high streets has become a significant challenge for businesses, colleagues and local communities. It affects confidence to invest, the experience of customers and, most importantly, the safety of the people who work there every day.”
High street insecurity and community strength are deeply intertwined, the report argues. For the full report, ‘Hijacked high streets’, visit https://www.centreforsocialjustice.org.uk/hijacked-high-streets.
‘Back with powers’
Joshua Nicholson, Head of Housing and Communities at the think-tank, said: Seizing illegal cigarettes and vapes while leaving the shop open to trade again the next day is not only futile, it is fuelling a terrifying criminal underworld. Hard-working Trading Standards officers are being asked to take on organised crime groups with one hand tied behind their backs. Government needs to back them with the powers they need to get criminal businesses out of our communities.”
Orders
As for anti-social behaviour, the report sees ‘a postcode lottery’ in the use of ASB powers, given that courts in some places issue many times more Criminal Behaviour Orders (CBOs) for shop thieves and other criminals and nuisance-causers, than others. As for what the tink-tank calls ‘the shoplifting crisis’, the think-tank calls on the Home Office to amend sentencing guidelines to presume mandatory GPS tagging, curfews, location restrictions, and addiction treatment for repeat shoplifters.
Background
The CSJ joined two Trading Standards services for enforcement visits, and held focus groups with frontline charities in the North East, and Yorkshire and the Humber. Data was obtained via an FOI request to all local authorities in GB with a statutory responsibility for trading standards in February 2026.
