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Cash still crucial for UK’s independent retailers

27 Sep 2023

A recent survey of retailers across the UK has shown that cash remains a crucial payment method for independent shops.
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Almost 2,000 more independent shops left empty in the first half of this year

27 Sep 2023

Almost 2,000 more British independent shops were left empty in the first half of this year, as small businesses struggled to cope with rising inflation and the cost-of-living crisis.
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Indie shops in Liverpool create their own security network to combat shoplifters.

27 Sep 2023

An independent shop owner in Liverpool has said that independent shops in the city centre have taken to creating their own security WhatsApp group, warning each other of shoplifters in the... Read more…

Indie shops key to reversing fortunes of struggling high streets – university study finds.

27 Sep 2023

A focus on independent and ‘browse-only’ shops can help to reverse the fortunes of the struggling high street, according to an extensive study by Manchester Metropolitan University.
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Trade association welcomes Home Office ‘back-to-basics’ retail crime promise

13 Sep 2023

The recent pledge by police forces across England and Wales to pursue every lead that holds a reasonable chance of apprehending criminals and solving crimes has been welcomed by Bira, which... Read more…

Hidden basement bar in Liverpool named 'best vegan restaurant' in Britain

12 Sep 2023

A family-run Liverpool restaurant hidden inside a basement is officially Britain's best vegan venue.
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Shoplifters working in organised groups targeting shops with co-ordinated raids

11 Sep 2023

A warning has been issued that shoplifters in the UK are becoming increasingly “emboldened” and appear to be often orchestrated by organised criminal groups, which steal to order,... Read more…

Shops urged to prepare for single-use plastics ban coming into force on 1 October

11 Sep 2023

It has been suggested that some shop owners may be unaware or unprepared for the upcoming change to regulations on single-use plastics on plates, bowls, trays, containers, cutlery and balloon... Read more…

National Lottery retailers urged to transfer retail agreement to new operator.

30 Aug 2023

Allwyn, incoming operator of The National Lottery, has urged independent National Lottery retailers to log on to its new online retailer portal via Read more…

Retailers sceptical about Home Secretary’s call for ‘every theft’ to be investigated.

30 Aug 2023

Shop owners have expressed scepticism that the Home Secretary's recent call for every theft to be investigated by the police will come to fruition, suggesting that police resources are already... Read more…

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Retailers sceptical about Home Secretary’s call for ‘every theft’ to be investigated.

Posted on in Business News

Shop owners have expressed scepticism that the Home Secretary's recent call for every theft to be investigated by the police will come to fruition, suggesting that police resources are already too stretched to tackle shoplifting.

Syella Bravaman

Last week, Suella Braverman said that every crime must be investigated, and that it was “unacceptable” for crimes such as shoplifting and phone theft to be treated as “less important”. She claimed all police forces in England and Wales had pledged to follow ‘all reasonable lines of enquiry”, with new guidance on investigating such crimes is to be issued.

The following day, though, the National Police Chief’s Council warned nearly half of all police forces have less officers now than in 2010 and said this meant police forces still need the freedom to make ‘difficult decisions’ on how to manage their resources.

Speaking to Better Retailing, Terrence Ford, shop owner at One Stop in Ely, Cambridgeshire, reported a shoplifting incident at his shop last week to the police. Cambridgeshire saw a 37% increase in shoplifting in the past year, the fifth worst-hit area in the UK. The UK saw an average increase of 24%.

Ford said he believes the Home Secretary’s call will “absolutely” help the current shoplifting epidemic taking place in the area.

“Realistically, we’re not allowed to do anything [about the shoplifting] – we just watch them do it and ask them to leave.”

He said it was important to get “more police on the streets”, but at present the force “is very stretched out”.

“With all the budget cuts across the board, it is absolutely understood why all of this gets ahead of them,” he said, and added that there was “absolutely” concern that the police won’t be able to follow through with the home secretary’s demands as a result.

Meanwhile, Eugene Diamond of Diamonds Newsagents, Ballymena, County Antrim, told the site that shop theft had “shot up in the past year”, but he does not believe the Home Secretary’s pledge will make a difference, as desperation and not caring are “the main factors” of theft.

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