London retailers and Met Police sign joint plan to curb retail crime

Senior leaders from the Metropolitan Police, the Mayor’s Office for Policing and Crime and major UK retailers—including Sainsbury’s, Ikea, Tesco, M&S, John Lewis Partnership and Next—met at New Scotland Yard to agree a joint action plan for tackling retail crime in London.

The plan focuses on tighter evidence sharing, improved support for the criminal‑justice process and giving higher priority to violent retail incidents and organised‑crime groups. Police will prioritise attendance at incidents, provide better updates to retailers and concentrate enforcement on prolific offenders. Retailers will preserve high‑quality CCTV and body‑camera footage, use a single point of contact for the police and allocate staff time to assist prosecutions.

Helen Dickinson, chief executive of the British Retail Consortium, said the plan should "boost collaboration" and help address the "hundreds of millions of pounds" lost to theft each year. Assistant Commissioner Matt Twist noted a recent 4 % drop in shop‑lifting offences and stressed the importance of evidence sharing. Deputy Mayor Kaya Comer‑Schwartz highlighted increased officer deployments, live facial‑recognition technology and new IT platforms as part of the effort. Retail Trust chief Chris Brook‑Carter stressed that supporting retail workers and ensuring swift action on theft and abuse are key outcomes of the partnership.