In October, the Metropolitan Police hailed what it called its largest ever targeted crackdown on organised shoplifting gangs in London. Over two days, in Operation Zoridon, Met officers raided more than 120 shops suspected of buying items stolen from major retailers and reselling them at a discount; and arrested 32, for various offences, including handling stolen goods, drug offences and immigration violations. Most of those arrested were bailed. Items worth in six figures were seized, including branded food, make-up and electrical devices. Nine stores were served with closure notices.
Supt Luke Baldock, from the Met and lead officer for Operation Zoridon, said: “This operation sent a clear message to anyone profiting from stolen goods and contributing to rising prices for Londoners: if you buy or sell stolen items, your licence will be revoked and your premises shut down.
“Shoplifting is not a victimless crime and the gangs involved are organised and have links to drugs and violence. Rogue shopkeepers who trade in stolen goods are funding criminal activity and driving up costs for everyone. They’re keeping thieves in business at the expense of hard-working, law-abiding retailers.
“During the Met’s largest ever operation to tackle shoplifting, we’ve made arrests, seized stolen goods and issued emergency closure orders. We will now need the support of the courts to secure longer closure orders and shut down these illicit shops for good.”
Police Scotland meanwhile launched a Retail Crime Taskforce in April. Supt Derrick Johnston from Greater Glasgow Division said the police were setting up a Glasgow team. He said: “Having a dedicated Retail Crime Taskforce team here in Glasgow should send a very clear message that such offences will not be tolerated and we are doing everything we can to prevent crime from occurring, while also robustly pursuing those responsible.”
Some background
As background, a national Tackling Retail Crime Together strategy was launched in July, by the police’s National Business Crime Centre (NBCC). The 12-page ‘strategic delivery plan’ document admitted that retail crime is rising (blamed by the Home Office ministers Dame Diana Johnson, who’s since moved department, and Lord Hanson, on the previous, Conservative Government). Also introducing the document, Alex Goss, the National Police Chiefs Council (NPCC) lead for retail crime, admitted it had reached ‘unprecedented levels’ including ‘a high level of recidivism, and a persistent cycle of offending that must be broken through the most appropriate means’.
Types of crime
Zoridon showed that theft from retail is only part of the story; as featured in the June 2025 edition of Professional Security Magazine, what matters as much is how stolen goods are disposed of; whether stolen to order, or stolen by drug addicts to pay for their addiction, or sold through car boots and in pubs, or through online marketplaces.
Town report
A report to the audit and governance committee of Hartlepool Borough Council in September stated that ‘main driver behind retail crime in Hartlepool is substance misuse and addiction issues’. While police denied that they do not respond to all reports of theft, the report admitted that (as elsewhere) ‘the complexity of reporting mechanisms’ acts as a disincentive to shops to try to report crimes. The report suggested many of those retail thieves arrested are locals, known to the police; and found ‘little evidence to suggest that this is serious and organised crime (SOC), planned and co-ordinated by groups or as part of transnational networks’.
As context, the report stated that the police force area, Cleveland, had one of the highest rates of retail crime in terms of population in the country; and retail theft in Hartlepool had increased. A few, prolific offenders were responsible for most offences. The council heard that retailers felt ‘loss of earnings, staff mental health and the expense of security measures’ were the most significant issues associated with retail crime. As for what retailers wanted, they spoke of ‘a higher police presence within the town and harsher punishments to deter’. A retail manager, when interviewed, spoke of escalating aggression shown by offenders, a worry for employees. Many of the concerns got raised at a retail crime summit by the Cleveland police and crime commissioner (PCC) in autumn 2023.
The report stated that ‘Offender Exit Interviews’, carried out by Cleveland Police, ‘indicated that shoplifting by most prolific offenders was self-motivated to fund a drug or alcohol addiction’. As for police response, each case is assessed according to THRIVE (threat, harm, risk, investigation, vulnerability and engagement), and an emergency will get prioritised.
Through the UK Shared Prosperity Fund (UKSPF), money provided by central Government and handled locally by the Tees Valley Combined Authority, Hartlepool town centre shops can have free retail radios for a year, the council covering the subscription cost. The council employs Community Protection wardens.
Lords debate
In mid-October the Crime and Policing Bill, Labour’s first, flagship proposals for criminal justice, completed its Second Reading in the House of Lords. It’ll next have line by line scrutiny in committee. Lucy Whing, Crime Policy Adviser at the trade body the British Retail Consortium (BRC), said: “As the government takes action to address retail crime, retailers hope this Bill will play a vital role in protecting retail workers from harm and tackling the surge in theft.
“The Bill will remove the £200 threshold for ‘low level’ theft, which will send a clear signal that all shoplifting is unacceptable and will not be tolerated. It will also introduce a stand-alone offence for assaulting a retail worker, which will increase sentencing and improve the visibility of violence against retail workers so that police can allocate the necessary resources to tackle this challenge.
“However, the Bill must go further. All people working in customer facing roles in the industry deserve equal protection, as is the case in Scotland. It remains unclear if the offence will cover delivery drivers, despite new figures from Usdaw revealing that more than three quarters have been a victim of abuse and over one in ten have been assaulted during the last 12 months. We call on the government to ensure that the final Act ensures the extension of protections to delivery drivers.”
The shop workers union Usdaw in a survey of 300 retail home delivery drivers working mainly in the grocery sector found most, 77 per cent had been subject to abuse; 12pc had been assaulted; and 26pc had refused a delivery due to fear for their personal safety. Such delivery drivers are required to obtain proof of age for a number of products which are subject to age-related sales legislation (and which is among the main triggers of assault in-store). Joanne Thomas, Usdaw general secretary, looked for the Government to ‘clarify’ if delivery drivers would also have the assault protection under the proposed law.
More in the December 2025 edition of Professional Security Magazine.
