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 £6m.
The 12-month scheme announced in the Scottish Government’s last budget only has £3m funding – which runs out in March 2026.
The Fed, which represents mainly small convenience shops in towns and villages across the country, says the scheme should continue - and actually expand.
In a letter to Finance Secretary, Shona Robison, who is preparing the Government’s next budget on 13 January, the Fed’s President in Scotland, Hussan Lal (left), 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’ don’t come close to capturing the fear and financial pressures experienced by our members.”
”The words ‘retail crime’ don’t come close to capturing the fear and financial pressures experienced by our members.”
Lal, who runs a shop in Paisley, Renfrewshire, added: “We were grateful for the launch of the RCTF announced in last year’s budget. We’ve also been encouraged by the impact it’s 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 £3m, 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.
“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 that was created to tackle the sharp rise in retail crime, including shoplifting, abuse and assaults on retail workers.
In official figures, in just the first six months after launch (April to October 2025), it’s 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.
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.
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