The Association of Convenience Stores (ACS) has expressed disappointment at comments made by the head of the Metropolitan Police, calling on retailers to “do better” in helping police catch shop thieves.
In an interview with The Telegraph, the Metropolitan Police commissioner Sir Mark Rowley said shops “need to step up more” to tackle shoplifting.
ACS chief executive James Lowman has criticised Rowley’s comments, highlighting the industry’s £250m annual investment in crime prevention measures.
“The Met chief’s comments are disappointing as we know that convenience stores have invested over a quarter of a billion pounds in the last year, with upgrading CCTV being the most common form of investment,” Lowman told Convenience Store.
“Where there are gaps in reporting, it is usually as a result of retailers becoming so frustrated with a lack of response or resolution from the police that they stop engaging with the process.”
Retail crime has cost convenience retailers an estimated £316m over the past year, according to the ACS’s Crime Report 2025.
Taken together, the cost of crime and investment in crime prevention amount to a 10p crime tax on every transaction in a convenience store, the trade body said.
Speaking to The Telegraph, Rowley said the retail industry was right to criticise police forces for “failing to do enough” to curb the surge in shop theft in recent years.
“And we have done. They need to step up more,” he said. “There are some of them who are fantastic and I’m not going to name a good and bad list, that would be invidious. But I’m just putting a marker down.
“The retail sector, a couple of years ago, was right to be cross with policing across the country. But in London, over the last year or so, we’ve really doubled down on it. We’re making a lot of progress, but I need to challenge back now to the retail sector. They now need to do better.”
While some retailers worked closely with the police to catch thieves, others failed to provide CCTV footage or witness statements, often citing the costs, according to Rowley.
“They can give them time to give a statement and they will pay them work time to go to court. Others won’t do any of that,” he told The Telegraph.
“So if they’re not prepared to roll up their sleeves as corporate victims, it’s going to be tough for us to make progress.”
Lowman said it’s important that the industry and police focus on building partnerships rather than “blaming the victims of crime”.
“There have been positive steps this year in relationships between retailers and the police and we’re getting closer to solutions that actually make a difference in communities”, added Lowman.
No comments yet