On The Road With The NBCC Team June 2026
June has been a month of real progress and growing momentum for the NBCC, with tangible advancements in how we tackle retail crime and support the industry more broadly.
At the heart of this has been continued delivery of the Tackling Retail Crime Together strategy. Work is also progressing at pace to develop a national crime reporting portal, a major step forward that will streamline how retailers report incidents and ensure more consistent, actionable data reaches police forces across the UK.
While retail crime remains our core focus under the Home Office grant, the Team is also addressing the rising challenge of tool theft and the illegal resale of stolen goods. Early in the month, Lisa presented the NBCC National Tool Theft Strategy to Policing Minister Sarah Jones MP. The significance of this work was recognised nationally when the Minister highlighted it in her opening address at the Police AI launch event—reinforcing the importance of coordinated action in this space.
Innovation and collaboration have been key themes throughout June. The Team has been working closely with Police AI and the Digital Public Contact Programme, exploring how artificial intelligence can transform the way crime is reported and analysed. These early-stage discussions are already shaping the future of the Fusion Cell—an ambitious initiative designed to bring together intelligence from multiple sources into one cohesive picture.
To bring this vision to life for industry partners, Lisa hosted a dedicated retailer briefing on the Fusion Cell. The session demonstrated how better use of existing data—often siloed across systems and stores, can deliver richer insights, helping policing to identify trends, target prolific offenders, and ultimately reduce harm across the retail sector.
Engagement with the wider retail community has also been a priority. On 18 June, Lisa and Titus attended the Retail Risk Event in London, connecting with both established partners and new voices from across the sector. Events like this are invaluable—not just for strengthening relationships, but for exploring the latest crime prevention technologies and innovations that can support retailers on the ground.
Titus and Rachael also strengthened engagement at a regional level, attending the South-West and Midlands Business Crime Reduction Partnership (BCRP) meetings. These sessions provided an opportunity to share updates on the national programme of work, ensuring local partners remain connected to the wider strategy. Equally important, the visits offered valuable insight into the vital role BCRPs play on the ground—supporting retailers, fostering collaboration, and enabling the effective sharing of intelligence. This two-way exchange is key: it not only helps align national and local efforts, but also deepens our understanding of the practical challenges and successes within communities. Ultimately, this collaboration is helping to build stronger, safer retail environments where businesses and communities can thrive.
National coordination continues to strengthen. Lisa supported Assistant Chief Constable Alex Goss at his regular meeting with Retail Crime SPOCs from across UK policing. These sessions are critical in ensuring that local operational activity aligns with national strategy, creating a more unified and effective response to retail crime.
Knowledge sharing has also remained a strong focus. Throughout the month, the Team delivered two online knowledge series events, bringing in expert perspectives from the Retail Trust and Auror. These sessions provided practical insight and open discussion, helping retailers and policing partners better understand the tools, trends, and support available.
Beyond enforcement, there has been important progress in addressing the root causes of offending. Rachael has been travelling across the country, visiting diversionary programmes in Nottinghamshire, Hampshire, and the West Midlands. These initiatives are making a real difference by helping individuals—many of whom are affected by substance misuse, break the cycle of offending. The aim is clear: to identify what works locally and scale it nationally, creating more sustainable, long-term solutions.
Overall, June has demonstrated the NBCC’s commitment to innovation, partnership, and practical impact—not only tackling retail crime as it happens, but also building the systems, relationships, and interventions needed to reduce it for the future.
