By Bill Heaney
Shoplifting crime figures are soaring in the midst of the Cost of Living Crisis.
Siobhan Brown, the Minister for Victims and Community Safety, has now assured MSPs that the police are taking action to tackle and reduce it.
She told the Holyrood parliament: “The Scottish Government absolutely recognises the disruption and harm to businesses from theft and other antisocial behaviour. Police Scotland and partners are taking action to tackle and reduce it.
“We continue to support the innovative Scottish partnership against acquisitive crime—SPAACE—strategy.
Minister Siobhan Brown, Tory MSP Sharon Dowey, Labour’s Daniel Johnson and Police Scotland Chief Constable Jo Farrell.
“The partnership is led by Police Scotland working with retailers and other organisations—including Retailers Against Crime and Neighbourhood Watch Scotland—and focuses on prevention, deterrence and, where appropriate, enforcement.
“The strategy seeks to minimise opportunities for acquisitive crime, to protect individuals and businesses and to deliver clear advice and guidance for prevention.
“Furthermore, each local area has a local police plan, which has been refreshed for 2023 to 2026. Many of those plans include specific activities that focus on acquisitive crime and engagement with partners and stakeholders, which focuses on addressing retailers’ concerns at a local level.”
She added: “Retailers are facing attacks on their livelihoods. With [police] officer numbers at their lowest since the Scottish National Party came into power, response times are said to be unsatisfactory or significantly delayed.
“It is clear that the current approach is simply not working, with a high percentage of retailers saying that they also face violence and abuse.
“What specific steps is the Scottish Government taking to support retailers and improve police response times to better protect our local communities?”
“I met the retail industry leadership group and the Scottish Retail Consortium, which raised concerns about antisocial behaviour and an increase in theft.
“It may be interesting to find out about an initiative that Police Scotland is piloting in Fife, where Police Scotland is coming together with partners and information technology providers to help to develop a platform that allows staff in stores to send details of crimes direct to Police Scotland. I hope that that initiative will be rolled out across Scotland.”
Labour’s Daniel Johnson is a member of the Union of Shop, Distributive and Allied Workers, which is the shop workers union.
He said: “In 2016, USDAW’s freedom from fear survey found that two per cent of shop workers suffered violence. By 2023, that had risen to 18 per cent.
“Shoplifting is a key trigger for that. The minister mentioned information sharing; what steps can be taken to spread that across the country?
“Although we understand that the police cannot attend every incident, it is important to gather evidence so that those who repeatedly carry out such crimes are brought to book, prosecuted and punished for crimes that, ultimately, end up being violent, when shop workers suffer as a result.”