Statement on the Association of Convenience Stores’ 2025 Crime Report

The Association of Convenience Stores (ACS) has published its annual Crime Report which estimates the total cost of crime to convenience stores at £316 million, equivalent to more than £6,000 per store. Commenting on the report’s findings, the APCC’s Joint Leads on Business and Retail Crime, Katy Bourne OBE and Andy Dunbobbin, said:

“We know from official crime statistics that the number of retail crime offences reported to police continues to rise to record levels. In part this is down to much-improved work between police forces and businesses to encourage better reporting of such crimes, but the numbers illustrate the enormity of the problem that needs to be gripped and dealt with.

“The ACS report says the sector has invested millions in crime prevention measures such as in-store CCTV and PCCs have been at the forefront of the drive to ensure shop theft and violence against shop workers are taken more seriously by the police. We are pleased to see the ACS highlight the importance of PCCs in holding their chief constables accountable on their commitment under the Retail Crime Action Plan to improve their response to shop theft and violence against staff.

“We have been pressing for the introduction of a standalone offence of assaulting a retail worker for some time so we very much welcome its inclusion in the recently published Crime and Policing Bill. It is important we send a clear message to retailers that violence and abuse against them will not be tolerated. 

“Police action against organised shop theft is also making a difference. The PCC-initiated Pegasus Partnership facilitates the sharing of intelligence between some of the country’s largest retailers and the police to inform robust enforcement activity. It has already resulted in more than 100 arrests of those involved in organised retail crime in less than a year and identified 93 vehicles linked to shop theft.

“This report states that only 36% of all retail crime is reported to police so it is clear more needs to be done to build confidence amongst convenience store workers that police will respond to their reports. We support the ACS’s call for retailers to report all incidents to enable police to act whilst also building an intelligence-based picture of those committing what are, often, repeat crimes.”

Notes

• Katy Bourne is joint APCC Lead on Business and Retail Crime, and Police and Crime Commissioner for Sussex.
• Andy Dunbobbin is joint APCC Lead on Business and Retail Crime, and Police and Crime Commissioner North Wales.
• The ACS 2025 Crime Report is available here.