‘Action to deal with the sharp rise in shoplifting that we have seen in recent years’ was promised by Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves in the Autumn Budget 2024.
She told the House of Commons: “We will scrap the effective immunity for low-value shoplifting introduced by the Conservative party, and having listened closely to organisations such as the British Retail Consortium and the trade union USDAW, I am providing additional funding to crack down on the organised gangs that target retailers, and to provide more training for our police officers and retailers, to stop shoplifting in its tracks.”
Kieran Mackie, managing director of the guarding contractor Amulet Security, pictured, said: โThe announcement that the government will allocate funding to directly target and break up criminal gangs involved in organised shoplifting will address an increasingly alarming issue in the UK.
โAs shoplifting has risen in recent years, most recently by 29 per cent, so too has the risk to shop workers. The retail industry, police, and security services need to work together to tackle this rise and deter gangs and individuals from repeat offending.
โSecurity officers play an important role in the safety of retail environments, tailored to the specific risks faced in each setting, whether that be anti-social behaviour, vandalism, or opportunistic theft. With budget allocation to targeting shoplifting and prosecuting low-level theft, security services will better support the police in identifying and charging shoplifters.
โNo one deserves to feel unsafe at work. Shoplifting puts workers at risk and costs businesses a reported ยฃ1.8 billion per year. This renewed focus is better for retail outlets and the people that work in them.โ
At the trade body the ACS (Association of Convenience Stores), Chief Executive James Lowman said: โThe Chancellorโs commitment to tackling shop theft will be warmly welcomed by our members, but they are interested only in action and in crime against their stores and their colleagues being tackled effectively.” Earlier, the shop workers’ trade union Usdaw was among those to express alarm at the rise in recorded shop theft; though it welcomed the Budget generally.
Police, prisons
As for the police, the Budget said that HM Treasury will work with the Home Office ‘to drive police efficiencies and improve overall police productivity in England, ending wasteful contracts and enabling officers to spend more time on the frontline tackling crime’. The much-promised 13,000 more neighbourhood officers and Police Community Support Officers (PCSOs) will be paid for by those ‘efficiencies’. As for prisons, the Budget promised to ‘bring an end to the crisis in prisons’, whereby ‘the government will examine tough alternatives to custody to make sure these sentences cut crime while making the best use of taxpayersโ money’. As for which offenders will go to prison, the Budget spoke only of ensuring ‘there is always the space in prison for the most dangerous offenders’.
In the Budget statement, it was promised that ‘the government will begin to repair the justice system by providing an additional ยฃ1.9 billion total departmental spending to the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) in 2025-26 โ an average real terms increase of 5.6 per cent each year from 2023-24 to 2025-26. Total Home Office (HO) funding will increase from ยฃ20.3 billion in 2023-24 to ยฃ22.1 billion in 2025-26.’
APCC comment
For the Association of Police and Crime Commissioners (APCC), Finance Leads Roger Hirst and Joy Allen said: โWe appreciate the increase in public sector funding and the commitment to start investment in thousands of additional neighbourhood police officers and staff to support the Neighbourhood Policing Guarantee. However, the rise in employer National Insurance contributions will impact unevenly on policing budgets because it is applied to separate force areasโ funding formula.”
Cyber comments
Edward Lewis, CEO and Managing Partner at CyXcel, a cyber security consultancy, noted spending on research and development, as a commitment to the governmentโs intent to nurture high-growth industries, and a step for attracting global talent and potentially bolstering the tech and cyber sectors. He said: “The increased funding for research and development presents a valuable opportunity for tech and cyber companies, especially those operating in or adjacent to areas of scientific research. This investment will likely fuel partnerships between tech firms, universities, and government research initiatives, opening doors for innovative projects and cutting-edge advancements. Companies in cybersecurity, for instance, may find synergies with government-backed research in data protection and quantum computing, while AI-driven tech businesses may benefit from developments in biotechnology or engineering that require robust data analytics and security infrastructure.”
And Keiron Holyome, VP UKI and Emerging Markets at BlackBerry pointed to the added cost pressures on British businesses and the urgent need to address the UKโs growing skills gap, particularly in cybersecurity, where demand continues to outstrip supply. “We cannot ignore that most in-house security teams will continue to have more to do than they can manage. At the same time, threat actors are quickly adopting new, AI-enabled techniques to increase the volume and sophistication of their attacks. Today, our latest Threat Report shows the cyber threat landscape is a maelstrom of groups exploiting the latest vulnerabilities and utilising new or updated malware families to target commercial enterprises and critical infrastructure.
โAt this critical juncture, government policy and investment must continue to address the skills shortage to bolster the UKโs cyber security defences.”
For the autumn 2024 budget in full visit the Treasury website.
