Independent retailers call for doubling of budget for police crackdown on shop crime

19/12/2025

The Federation of Independent Retailers (The Fed) is calling on ministers to lift the axe hanging over Police Scotland’s Retail Crime Taskforce (RCTF) and to double its budget to £6 million.

The 12-month scheme announced in the Scottish Government’s last budget only has £3 million funding and this runs out in March (2026). But the Fed, which represents mainly small convenience shops in towns and villages across the country, says the scheme should continue – and expand.

In a letter to Finance Secretary Shona Robison who is preparing the government’s next budget on January 13, the Fed’s President in Scotland Hussan Lal said: “As you know there has been theft, abuse and assault on an unprecedented scale in shops over the last few years. The words “retail crime” do not come close to capturing the fear and financial pressures experienced by our members.”

Mr Lal, who runs a shop in Paisley, Renfrewshire, continued: “We were grateful for the launch of the Retail Crime Task Force, announced in last year’s budget. We’ve also been encouraged by the impact the Force has made in just a few months and by the future measures it proposes.

“We urge you to continue and expand the task force which has a budget of just £3million, a 12-month lifespan which expires in March and a predominant focus on areas such as Glasgow, Edinburgh and Lanarkshire with a few officers in Fife, Tayside and the North East.”

Mr Lal added: “We can confirm from hard personal experience that retail crime is not confined to areas in the central belt. Additionally, we anticipate that crime levels will rise rather than fall in March.”

The RCTF is a dedicated policing initiative created to tackle the sharp rise in retail crime, including shoplifting, abuse, and assaults on retail workers. Its mission is to reduce crime and protect staff and businesses, partly by raising the profile of police work on this issue and using technology to speed up the process of reporting intelligence and crimes to the police.

In official figures, the Taskforce reports that in just the first six months after launch, April-Oct 2025, it has detected over 500 retail offences, made 65 arrests, and established £25,000 worth of stolen goods. It also reports 65 arrests and 234 charges brought and it is supporting retailers with guidance on preventative measures and conflict management.

Police Scotland data shows shoplifting offences surged by 17 per cent in the year ending June 2025, reaching 40,554 incidents, up from 34,600 the previous year. This represents a 124 per cent increase since 2021.